Flying High
by Professor Snaglefoompus
Summary: What if Twilight Sparkle was a pegasus, not a unicorn? Would she still be able to help defeat Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony?
1. Prologue

_Fourteen Years Ago_

It was a busy day at Canterlot Castle. The newest batch of recruits for the Royal Guard were officially starting their first day of duty, and most of them were more nervous than a cat in a rocking chair factory.

Celestia was scheduled to meet with all the new guards at 4:00, but that was still a half hour away. Instead of waiting, she decided to take a walk through the gardens. Watching the animals and hearing the quiet sounds of nature always calmed the Princess of the Sun.

Only this day, nature was not so quiet. The birds were clearly disturbed, and they chittered loudly. Wondering what the problem was, Celestia followed the upset animals to the source of their disturbance.

In a corner of the garden areas was a lavender-colored pegasus, so young that she didn't have her cutie mark yet. She was crying to herself and making a lot of noise.

"Are you okay?" Princess Celestia asked.

"I'm _looooooost!_" the pegasus cried. "I flew here to wish my big brother good luck, and now I don't know where I am, and I—"

"Please, don't cry," Princess Celestia said. "I can help you."

The young filly wiped the tears from her eyes, then looked up at the Princess. She immediately gasped.

"You—you're Princess Celestia!" the pegasus said.

"I am," Celestia said kindly. "And what is your name, young one?"

"T...Twilight Sparkle," the lavender-colored pony said.

"Well, Twilight, I think I can help you find your brother," said the princess. "What is his name?"

"Shining Armor," Twilight said. "He's big and has a blue mane, and he's a unicorn."

"Let's see if we can find him, then," Princess Celestia said. "Please, come with me." She began to walk to the nearest guard station, while the tiny Twilight followed at her side.

"Um...Princess?" Twilight asked. She sniffed loudly, trying to keep a few more tears from escaping. "Mom says you can do really powerful magic. Is that true?"

Celestia smiled. "Yes, my little pony," she said. "With my magic, I can control the sun and the moon."

"Wow, really?" Twilight asked. "That's amazing! Since you're so good at magic, can you...can you make me a unicorn? Please?"

The Princess halted at that question. "Make you a unicorn?" Celestia asked. "Don't you enjoy being a pegasus?"

"No," Twilight said. She spread out her wings. "Flying is fun and all, but everypony at my school is a unicorn. They'd rather talk about magic than hang out with me."

"What about your friends?" Celestia asked.

"...I don't have any friends, besides my brother," Twilight said sadly. "And I was just thinking...maybe if I was a unicorn, I could have friends."

"I see," Princess Celestia said. She thought for a moment. "Well, I can't make you a unicorn, Twilight, but I _can_ be your friend. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Twilight said, jumping up happily. "You can be my BPF! Big Princess Friend!"

Celestia chuckled at the young one's enthusiasm. She remembered that her niece, Cadence, was looking for a foalsitting job. Perhaps Twilight's parents would be willing to hire her?


	2. The Lost Princess

_Present Day_

If Twilight Sparkle ever had to say what she liked best about being a pegasus, she was pick the ability to lie on clouds. Flying was fun, and controlling the weather was amazing, but she loved being on clouds the most.

Things were just so peaceful, up in the sky. She could rest on a cloud, thirty feet above the rest of the world, and forget about all her problems. On the ground, other ponies would interrupt her, or make her feel uncomfortable, and sometimes they'd even tease her for being out of place. But here on the clouds, nopony would ever bother her. She could have peace for as long as she wanted.

Twilight especially liked the peace and quiet in the sky. It was perfect for her favorite activity: reading. Twilight Sparkle loved to read, so much that she had a book for a cutie mark. She was even the official assistant librarian at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

Among the staff and students, Twilight was treated as sort of a joke—what unicorn school hires a _pegasus _as a librarian?—but she took her job very seriously. She made it her duty to read every single book in the library, even though she couldn't understand most of the books about magic.

Twilight was currently making her way through the E section of the library. That was why she was readingEquestrian Legends. Chapter Four was all about Nightmare Moon. Twilight knew the basic legend—everypony who celebrated Nightmare Night did—but she was fascinated to find out there was more to the story.

"I never knew Princess Celestia had a sister," Twilight said. "I wonder why she's not around anymore. Did Nightmare Moon defeat her?"

Twilight kept reading. It turned out that Princess Celestia's sister _was _Nightmare Moon, in a sense. Somehow—the book didn't give specifics—jealousy caused the Princess of the Night to be replaced by the twisted Nightmare Moon. She appeared in ponies' dreams, turning them all into nightmares, until Princess Celestia was forced to banish the monster who had once been her beloved sister.

_Not wanting to kill the former princess, Celestia decreed that, on the longest day of the thousandth year, she would be allowed to return from the moon. On that date, (which astronomers quickly determined is June 21st, 1999), a pony will arrive in our fair land. But will it be the benign Princess Luna or the evil Nightmare Moon? Only time will tell._

"June 21st, 1999?!" Twilight gasped. "That's a month from now!"

Twilight immediately put the book in her saddlebag and flew towards the library at top speed.

* * *

Twilight flew into the open window of the school library. She always kept that particular window open, so she could make a quick entrance (or exit, as the case may be). A few papers were scattered into the air as Twilight flew by, coming to a screeching halt in front of her boss, an elderly bird lover named Wren Calls.

"Twilight, how many times have I told you to not to fly in the library?" Wren admonished.

"Where's Spike?" Twilight asked.

"It's unnatural, and you always knock books off the top shelf—" Wren said.

"This is an emergency!" Twilight said, cutting Wren off in mid-lecture. "Where's Spike?"

"How should I know?" Wren asked. "I'm not his guardian!"

"Ughhh..." Twilight groaned. Wren Calls was not a helpful pony, even at the best of times; that was how she got the nickname "Wrinkles" among some of the younger ponies. Twilight couldn't wait for the older pony to finally retire and give Twilight the job as Head Librarian.

"I'll go look somewhere else then," Twilight said. She bent down on her hooves and spread out her wings to full capacity.

"No you don't!" Wren crowed. "You've got a whole cart of books to shelve and—"

"I'll do it later!" Twilight called behind her, as she flew through the open window.

Wren muttered to herself about irresponsible pegasus assistants.

* * *

Spike and Twilight were casual acquaintances at best, who only knew each other through the Princess. As such, Twilight didn't know where to find him. She tried checking the cafeteria and the mailroom (where he sometimes delivered express mail with his flame breath, in exchange for bits), but he wasn't there.

Twilight ended up finding Spike lying down near one of the many statues of Princess Celestia that decorated all of Canterlot.

"Spike!" Twilight said, landing on the ground. "_There _you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

The only response Spike gave was a small snore. The baby dragon was sleeping. Twilight smiled to herself at how cute Spike was._ Who knew dragons could look so harmless? _she wondered.

Twilight opened her right wing and rubbed one of her feathers under Spike's nose. His nose twitched, and he sneezed violently.

"Huh? Wha?" Spike asked.

"Hey, Spike," Twilight said. "Glad to see you're awake!"

"Uh...oh, it's you," Spike said. "The pegasus. What brings you here?"

"It's Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said. "And I have to send a letter to Princess Celestia right away!"

"Oh, okay," Spike said. He yawned, then stood up. "What's the big hurry?"

"Her sister is going to be here in a month, _that's _the hurry!" Twilight said. "Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Princess Celestia has a sister?" Spike asked. "Since when?"

"Apparently, for about ten thousand years," Twilight said. "I can't _believe _this isn't all over the news! A lost princess, returning after a thousand years?"

"Woah..." Spike said. "Is that true?"

"We'll find out, as soon as Princess Celestia responds to the letter!" Twilight said. "Let's go!"

"Right," Spike said. "Let's go get some paper!"

* * *

While Spike and Twilight went to get some paper and a pen, Twilight explained the situation to Spike. Together, they sent a message to the Princess, asking about Princess Luna's return. Spike sent it to her through dragon mail, and in ten minutes, they got a response.

Spike undid the scroll and read, "_My dear associate, Twilight Sparkle..._"

"Hey, don't read my mail!" Twilight said. She swiped the parchment from Spike's hands and read it herself, silently.

"What's it say?" Spike asked.

"...She wants to meet with me," Twilight said. "Tomorrow."

"Did she say anything about me?" Spike asked, trying to sneak a peek at Twilight's letter.

"I've got a meeting with the Princess tomorrow!" Twilight said, a slight edge of panic to her voice. "And I haven't fully researched Nightmare Moon yet! There must be at least three more books in our library which mention her! I've got to get going!"

"Uh..." Spike said.

"This is bad! This is bad!" Twilight said, dancing on hooves. "What do I do? What do I do?"

"Calm down," Spike advised. "I'm sure the princess isn't going to get mad at you."

"You're probably right, but there's no sense in being unprepared!" Twilight said. "Thanks for sending that letter, Spike. I've got _research _to do!"

"Gee, you're—"

There was a loud _fwoosh _as Twilight flew straight up into the air, like a bottle rocket. She turned and went straight for the library, with her letter in hoof.

"—welcome?" Spike asked. He scratched his head. Was Twilight always that stressed out?

* * *

The next day, Twilight went to Canterlot Castle. She took a deep breath, then nudged open the doors to the Royal Hall and timidly looked inside.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.

Twilight Sparkle was still somewhat nervous around Princess Celestia. The two of them were friends, but it wasn't like she was the Princess' personal student who met with her every day. The Princess hadn't had _any_personal students, ever since...well, ever since the incident that the Princess never talked about.

Her Royal Highness was sitting on her throne, going through weather reports from Cloudsdale. Her face lit up when she saw Twilight. She instantly put the reports down on a side table and leapt up.

"Twilight Sparkle!" Princess Celestia said. "Please, come in! It is good to see you again!"

Twilight walked inside, a bit awed by the size of the room and by the fierce-looking guards. "Hello, Princess," Twilight said. "It's good to see you, too."

Celestia walked towards Twilight. "I asked the guards to clear the Glass Hallway, so we could speak there in private," she said. "I hope you don't mind?"

"Oh, no, that doesn't bother me," Twilight said. "I love the Glass Hallway."

"Excellent," Celestia smiled. She led Twilight out of the room and together, they went to the Glass Hallway.

If you ever get the chance to visit Canterlot, it is highly recommended that you go to the Glass Hallway while you're there. It is definitely worth the three bits for a personal tour. The Glass Hallway is a utterly magnificent area, which is over a hundred yards long. The walls are coated with dozens of beautiful stained glass windows, some of them fifteen feet high.

The Glass Hallway was personally designed by Princess Celestia, four thousand years ago. As the Princess of the Sun, she loved to see her sunlight reflected through the windows, creating a myriad of brilliant colors.

"I was pleasantly surprised when I received your letter," Princess Celestia said. "I am glad to learn that your research has been progressing well."

"Well, there hasn't been much material for me to research lately..." Twilight said. She wasn't being modest; she was telling the truth. As a non-unicorn, she couldn't do a lot of research in magic, which made up the bulk of the material in the unicorn school's library.

"Do not sell yourself short," Celestia said. "You should be proud of your research skills. You're the first pony to notice that Nightmare Moon's return is imminent."

"So she _is _coming here next month?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Celestia said. "Most ponies think she is just a myth, but I can assure you that she is very real. Even after a thousand years, I haven't forgotten her."

"But..." Twilight began to say. Her ears lowered. "I'm sorry if I'm being intrusive, but...how does Nightmare Moon relate to your sister? None of the books I found mentioned that."

"Princess Luna is trapped inside Nightmare Moon," Celestia said. "I'm still not entirely sure how it happened, but I'm convinced that my sister is still alive, inside the horrible monster. I can sense it."

"I...I see..." Twilight said.

Celestia stopped in front of a window and gestured towards it. "I brought you here, because I wanted you to see this," she said to Twilight. "What do you see?"

Twilight looked at the window. She had never seen it before, for good reason; it had recently been brought out of storage. The bottom of the window was a horrific scene. It looked like ponies were being tortured by a horned, dragon-like creature intent on destruction and chaos. At the top of the window were two alicorns: one white and one blue. Their bodies formed complimentary halves of a brilliant circle.

Twilight recognized the white alicorn immediately, thanks to the sun cutie mark on her flank. The darker alicorn had a moon for a cutie mark.

"That's you at the top," Twilight said. "Is the other pony your sister?"

"Yes," Celestia said. "That is a picture of Princess Luna and me, defeating Discord."

"Discord?" Twilight asked. She looked at the window more closely. A light was emanating from the Royal Sisters, and it focused on the horned creature. "Is that the name of the monster here?"

"Yes," Celestia said. "We defeated Discord with the Elements of Harmony."

"The Elements of Harmony!" Twilight said, happy for an opportunity to show she had done her research. "One of the books mentioned that! The Elements can be used to stop evil creatures, like changlings!"

"They can," Celestia confirmed. "They can even stop Nightmare Moon."

Twilight gasped. "Is that...is that true?" she asked.

"It is indeed," Princess Celestia said. "If we could use the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon, I'm sure they would destroy her and save my sister. The only problem is that—"

"One of the Elements is unknown!" Twilight interrupted. Seeing the look on Celestia's face, she stopped. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I just read it in a book."

"I see," Celestia said. "What did the book say?"

"Well..." Twilight said. She flew up a few feet, so she was level with the top of the stained-glass window. From here, she had a better view of the princesses. In between the two alicorns were six circles, each one with a symbol on it.

"There are six Elements of Harmony, and each one represents something different," Twilight said. She pointed at one circle, which had a heart on it. "I think this one represents kindness. There's also laughter and...let's see, that's loyalty and that's honesty, which means that one is...giving?"

"That is the Element of Generosity," Celestia said.

"Right," Twilight said. "But the last one...nopony knows what it is. Hmmm...it looks sort of like a compass."

"Yes," Celestia said simply. "That's right. Nopony knows what the last Element of Harmony is."

Something in her mentor's voice sounded off. Twilight landed on the ground and looked worriedly at Celestia. "Princess?" she asked.

Celestia's thoughts were elsewhere, and it took a moment for Celestia to refocus on the task at hand. She shook her head and looked at Twilight.

"Forgive me," Celestia said. "I got distracted for a moment. Twilight Sparkle...I have a job for you to complete. A very important job."

Twilight gulped. She didn't like the seriousness in the Princess' voice. "What is it?" she asked.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now," Princess Celestia said. "And now that you know about the Elements of Harmony, there's no sense in putting it off any longer. I want you to move to Ponyville."

"Whaaaaaat?" Twilight asked. "I can't move away from Canterlot! This is my home! My family lives here!"

"I know that," Celestia said. "But there's an opening for a government position in Ponyville. They need a new head librarian."

"A head librarian?" Twilight asked. Her eyes almost sparkled with joy. "I'm getting a _promotion?_"

"Exactly," Celestia said. "I think you would be the perfect pony for the job...but that's not all I want you to do."

"There's something else?" Twilight asked.

"As you may know, the Summer Sun Celebration this year is being held in Ponyville," Celestia said. "They need somepony organized to help them prepare for the event. I want you to be that pony."

"You want me to be in charge of the Summer Sun Celebration?" Twilight asked. "But...isn't that coming up really soon? I might not have enough time."

"The Summer Sun Celebration this year is on June 21st," Princess Celestia said.

Twilight's eyes widened. "June 21st?" she asked. "But that's the day that Nightmare Moon is going to return!"

"And we need to be ready," Celestia said. "While you go around town, preparing for the festival, I want you to find ponies who can wield the Elements of Harmony."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "You're making me a secret agent?" she asked.

Celestia chuckled. "In a sense, yes," she said. "But it's nowhere near as dramatic as that. All you have to do is find ponies who match the elements. Find a pony who is kind, a pony who is honest, a pony who is loyal, and so on."

"I...guess I could do that," Twilight said. "Sure."

"You _have _to do it, Twilight," Celestia said. "This is of the utmost importance."

Twilight stood up as straight as she possibly could. "I won't let you down, Princess Celestia!" she said. "You've done so much to help me already...I _will _help save your sister!"

"Excellent," Celestia said. "I knew I could depend on you. Let's make preparations immediately."


	3. Arriving in Ponyville

Two days later, Princess Celestia came by to see Twilight off. In a move which surprised the young pony, Celestia had insisted that Twilight take Spike with her to Ponyville.

"But we barely know each other," Twilight had argued.

"This is an opportunity to change that," Princess Celestia had said. "Besides, without Spike, there's no other way for you to contact me in case of an emergency."

When Celestia stepped onto the balcony, Twilight was busy attaching the harness of the small chariot to her back. It was difficult to attach the harness without getting her wings caught in anything.

"It's a good thing you're small," Twilight said to Spike. "I don't think I could pull much more weight."

Spike shrugged. "Just be glad all our luggage was sent ahead of us," he said.

"I see you are almost ready," Princess Celestia said, stepping over to them. She used her magic to fix one of the straps that Twilight was struggling with. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Absolutely," Twilight said. "I've never flown this far before, but I've done the math, and if I fly at a constant rate of 6.3 wingpower, I can make it to Ponyville in two hours."

"Don't forget to take a break if you need to," Celestia suggested.

"Yeah, I won't be mad if it takes longer to get there," Spike said. "I'm not in a hurry."

Celestia leaned in closer to the pair. "Now remember," she said. "Your cover story is that you're being sent to Ponyville to research friendship. That'll give you an excuse to meet everypony in town."

Spike, who had been told about the mission, nodded. "With the two of us working together, I'm sure we'll find the Elements of Harmony in no time!" he said.

"But what about the sixth Element of Harmony?" Twilight asked. "The compass one that nopony knows the meaning of. How can I find somepony who wields that?"

"You...let _me_ worry about that," Celestia said, reluctant to divulge more information. "If worse comes to worst, I can try wielding it myself."

"...Okay," Twilight said reluctantly.

"Good luck, you two," Celestia said. "If you ever need me for anything, send me a letter. I'll answer as soon as possible."

"Roger that!" Spike said, giving a salute. "Goodbye, Princess!"

"See you at the Summer Sun Celebration!" Twilight said. She started buzzing her wings, in preparation for takeoff.

"Goodbye!" Princess Celestia said, as Twilight took to the air, pulling the small chariot with Spike behind her.

Celestia watched them fly away, until they were nothing more than a speck in the sky. Sighing, the Princess of the Day turned around and went back towards the palace.

Being the bright young pony she was, Twilight had noticed the major flaw in Celestia's plan: the Element of Magic. Only a powerful unicorn could wield that particular element, but Celestia knew for certain that no such unicorn existed.

For the past fifty years, Celestia had searched extensively for unicorns with strong magical abilities. If truth be told, that was part of the reason why she founded her school for gifted unicorns, five hundred years ago.

Sadly, the Princess' search for a unicorn who could be the Element of Magic was unsuccessful.

Well, not _entirely_ unsuccessful. Her last student—the one who had hatched Spike from his egg—had shown a lot of promise. But then the disaster happened and...

"Blueblood, why did you do that?" Princess Celestia wondered, not for the first time. "Everything would be perfect now, if you had just done the right thing."

* * *

Twilight and Spike arrived in Ponyville about two and a half hours later. They flew over what looked like the main part of town.

"Where do you think City Hall is?" Twilight asked.

"You're the pegasus, not me," Spike said. "Can't you recognize buildings from above?"

"Not unless they have signs on their roofs," Twilight said. Roof signs were more common in pegasus places like Cloudsdale and Airizona, but Ponyville appeared to be an Earth pony town. Its buildings were designed to look interesting, only from ground level. "This kind of looks like the right place. Maybe we should land and ask—"

_"What are you doing here?"_ a harsh voice asked.

An angry-looking pegasus mare with a rainbow-colored mane flew up out of nowhere, stopping two feet in front of Twilight. Twilight let out a small "Eep!" and recoiled, causing Spike to fall forward against the front of the chariot.

"This is a restricted area," the mare said. "A **no fly** zone! Get down on the ground immediately!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Twilight said. She flew downwards, looping around in a big circle so the chariot would land safely on the ground. The rainbow pegasus landed in front of her.

"Flying a chariot over City Hall? What do you have to say for yourself?" the rainbow pegasus asked.

"Hey, it _was _City Hall!" Spike said. "We found it!"

"I am _so sorry_," Twilight Sparkle said. "This is my first time in Ponyville, so I didn't know—"

"The punishment for flying a commercial vehicle over government property is ten days in jail," the mare said sternly. "I'm taking you straight to the police station."

Twilight Sparkle threw herself at the mare's hooves. "No, _please!_" she begged. "I'm not a bad pony! I had no idea that—huh?"

Twilight lost her grip on the mare's hooves, when the sky-blue legs started shaking. Twilight looked up to see that the rainbow-maned pegasus was...laughing?

"Ha ha ha! I'm just kidding!" she said. "But seriously, they don't like having ponies fly over Town Hall. There have been problems with that in the past."

"Problems?" Twilight asked, getting up off the ground. She started unhitching herself from the chariot, as Spike jumped off the chariot and landed on the ground.

"Yeah, this one mailmare accidentally dropped a grandfather clock through the roof once," the mare said. "Plus, there was that big pegasus protest when the mayor announced mandatory wing inspections...Anyway, I'm Rainbow Dash. I help with the weather team here. Who are you?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia sent me here to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash said, momentarily rearing up onto her hind legs. "Back up! You know Princess Celestia?"

"Uh huh!" Spike said. "We're her best friends!"

"I wouldn't go _that _far," Twilight said. "But I've known her for about fourteen years. She helped me get a job here."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Rainbow Dash said. "What's your job?"

"I'm here to study the magic of friendship!" Twilight Sparkle said proudly. She struck a self-important pose, hoping to seem impressive.

Rainbow tilted her head to the right a bit. "Friendship?" she asked skeptically. "That's a thing you can study?"

"She's the new head librarian," Spike explained. "I'm her assistant, Spike."

"_Oh..._" Rainbow Dash said. "That makes more sense."

Twilight's face fell. "Well...I _am _here to research friendship..." she muttered. Then she brightened up. "Maybe you and I could be friends!"

"Uh...sure," Rainbow Dash said. "It's always nice meeting a new pegasus in town. Maybe later I can show you some of my flying tricks."

"Sounds great!" Twilight said. "But first, we have to meet with the mayor. She wanted to see us as soon as we got here."

"Well, she's probably in there," Rainbow said, pointing at Town Hall. "Nice meeting you two. Have fun in Ponyville!"

"Thanks, you too!" Spike said, as Rainbow flew off.

* * *

After some paperwork was filled out, Mayor Mare led Twilight and Spike around the mostly empty Town Hall, pointing out places of interest. "The choir will be situated there," the elder mare said. "Princess Celestia will be behind the onstage curtain until I introduce her."

"What about food?" Spike asked.

"Nopony has volunteered to help with the food yet," Mayor Mare said. "Perhaps you two can round up some volunteers while you're staying here."

"Well, we want everypony to have a good view of what's happening," Twilight said. "I take it that there will be some kind of seating system in place?"

"No, unfortunately, nopony volunteered to take care of that," Mayor Mare said.

Twilight frowned in frustration; this project was starting to look hopeless. "So you're saying that nopony has volunteered to help with setup, cleanup, food _or _ushering," she summarized. "What _do _we have volunteers for?"

"Rarity has agreed to help with decorations, and Fluttershy will lead the choir," Mayor Mare said.

There was a pause, as Twilight waited for the mayor to continue. She didn't.

"...That's it?" Twilight asked. "Only two ponies are helping with this event? The Summer Sun Celebration is_next month!_"

"Which is why we're _so glad_ you agreed to take charge of the project," Mayor Mare said. "The princess spoke very highly of your abilities. With your help, I'm sure that everything will go smoothly!"

"I suppose," Twilight said. She wanted to complain that she never volunteered to be in charge of this project, but she held her tongue. Mayor Mare sensed Twilight's discomfort, and she tried to change the topic quickly.

"Did I mention that we have a guide for you here?" Mayor Mare asked.

"A guide?" Spike asked. "Like a map or something?"

"No, we have a pony who agreed to show you through town," Mayor Mare said. "She's part of our welcome wagon committee."

"Where is she?" Twilight asked. "Maybe she can help with the Summer Sun Celebration."

"She's probably outside," Mayor Mare said, leading Spike and Twilight to the exit. "I probably should warn you that Pinkie Pie can be a _tad _rambunctious around new—"

The instant the front door was opened and the three ponies stepped outside, confetti rained down upon them. A pink pony holding several musical instruments jumped up and down on Twilight's chariot.

"Hey, what's—ow!" Twilight said, as some confetti got in her eyes. Spike tried to burn some of the confetti with his fire breath, while the mayor held her head and sighed.

The pink pony began playing a song, although Twilight would never be sure how she could sing and play the tuba at the same time.

_Welcome, welcome, welcome,  
__To the Princess' smart student!  
__Welcome, welcome, welcome,  
__We're glad that you are present!_

_We hope that you are happy here,  
__And you don't treat us with scorn!  
__So welcome, welcome, welcome...  
__To our newest unicorn!_

The pink pony did a flip in midair and landed on a switch. A banner reading "Welcome to Princess Celestia's Delegate!" popped out of the ground.

"Ta-da!" the pink pony said. "What do you think?"

"Uh..." Twilight said, not sure how to react. "I'm not a unicorn."

"Whaaaat?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I thought everypony in Canterlot was a unicorn! They told me that you were from Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and I thought—"

"It's a common mistake," Twilight said, in an understanding voice.

"A _really _common mistake," she muttered, too low for anypony to hear. Why did everypony expect her to be a unicorn?

"That was pretty cool!" Spike said, walking over to Pinkie Pie and holding out his hand. "I'm Spike. Do _I_ get a song?"

"Hi, Spike, I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said. "I didn't know anypony else was coming here, or I would have changed my sign! But I think I can make up a song for you!"

Pinkie pulled confetti out of nowhere and threw it into the air.

_Oh...welcome, welcome, wel—_

"Pinkie!" Mayor Mare interrupted. "Can I have a word with you?"

Pinkie frowned. "Okay..." she said, as she put her instruments away.

The mayor took Pinkie a short distance away, before chewing her out. "Pinkie, I told you we couldn't afford anything big right now._ How much_ of the Welcoming Committee's money did you spend on that banner?"

"Um...all of it?" Pinkie said. "Well...the budget wasn't large enough, so I had to pay a little extra."

"Next time, use a piece of paper as a sign!" Mayor Mare said. "This is completely overdone and irresponsible!"

Pinkie's ears flattened and she hung her head in shame. "I just wanted to welcome the new ponies..." she said.

"And the confetti! What have I told you about using confetti on the streets?"

"You said not to use confetti, because it makes a big mess, and we have to pay for street cleaners..." Pinkie said sadly. "But I thought it would be fine if I just used a _little _confetti!"

"Three buckets of confetti is _not _a little!" Mayor Mare said.

"Seven buckets, actually," Pinkie Pie said. "I didn't use them all yet!"

"You bought seven buckets worth of confetti," Mayor Mare said, facehoofing. "I swear, you are—"

"Um, excuse me," Twilight Sparkle said, walking up to the pair. "But I can help clean up, if you want."

"What?" the Mayor asked. She looked embarrassed. "Oh, my dear, you weren't supposed to hear that!"

"It's no problem, really," Twilight said. She unfurled her wings and flapped them perpendicular to the ground. This created a small wind, which blew some the confetti away. In a short period of time, she got all the confetti together in a pile.

"Ta-da!" Twilight said.

"Oh my gosh, you are my new best friend!" Pinkie Pie said, hugging Twilight. "Thank you so much, Twilight Purple!"

"It's Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said. "And you're welcome."

"So I'm here to show you around town!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing up and down. "Where do you want to go first? We could go to Sugarcube Corner, which is where_ I_ live! They have the yummiest food there! And you're going to live at the library, which is really close by, so we can be best friend neighbors!"

"Yes, we should probably visit our new home first, so I can drop off this chariot," Twilight said. She didn't want to pull the chariot around all day. "And after that, we should visit the local school. I need to sign Spike up for classes there."

"Hey!" Spike said. "I'm not a little kid! Besides, I'm supposed to be your assistant!"

"Maybe when you're older," Twilight said. She still didn't know Spike well enough to want to have him around her constantly.

"Hmmmph," Spike said.

"Miss Cheerilee is in charge of Ponyville Elementary," Mayor Mare said. "She can answer all your questions about child education."

"Great, thanks, Mayor," Twilight said.

"Well, I have to get back to work," the Mayor said. "I'll leave you to get acquainted with the town. Please keep in touch and let me know your progress with the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Will do," Twilight said. "Can I ask you one last thing, though? Who would you say is the most generous pony in town?"

"Well...nopony _immediately _comes to mind..." Mayor Mare said.

"Bon Bon likes to give free samples at her store," Pinkie Pie suggested.

"Okay, then, who would you say is the most loyal?" Twilight asked.

"Loyal to what?" the mayor asked.

"Loyal to...huh," Twilight said. Now that the mayor pointed it out, she had no idea what the Element of Loyalty referred to. There are many things a pony can be loyal to: her friends, her country, even her favorite restaurant. "Hmmm...Spike, do you know what the loyalty element means?"

"Hey, you know more about this than me," Spike said, shrugging.

"Make a note for me to ask the Princess later," Twilight dictated.

"I thought I'm not your assistant," Spike said.

Twilight smacked him upside the face, with one of her wings. "Ow!" Spike said. Pinkie Pie giggled.

"Well, that's everything!" Twilight said quickly. "Heh heh, it was nice meeting you, Mayor!"

"Likewise," Mayor Mare said. She turned around and went back inside Town Hall. Behind her, Spike was grumbling about unfair treatment, while Twilight lectured him on the importance of teamwork. Pinkie Pie was bouncing around, thinking up all the various places that she wanted to take Twilight.

* * *

Once the chariot had been dropped off at the library (and once Twilight stopped gushing about how amazing her new home was), they went to enroll Spike at Ponyville Elementary. It was shortly before noon when they arrived, so Cheerilee had declared an early lunch that day, so she and Twilight could hammer out the details.

"I have no idea how old he is specifically," Twilight said. "All I know is that he's still a baby dragon."

"Do you know how many years of formal schooling he's had?" Cheerilee asked.

"A few, I would guess," Twilight said. "He knows how to read and write pretty well. He trips up over large words, sometimes."

"We've had a transfer student from Canterlot before, so I know their educational system isn't _too _different from ours, besides for the magic training," Cheerilee said. "I think the first place to start is by giving Spike an aptitude test, so we can determine which level of studies he's at."

"Makes sense to me," Twilight nodded.

"What about social skills?" Cheerilee asks. "How does he interact with other children his age?"

Twilight took a moment to look out at the playground area, where Spike was. The playground area was little more than a small field, where the children could run around safely, under an adult's supervision.

The adult in this case was Pinkie Pie, who agreed to watch the children so Cheerilee and Twilight could talk. Normally, the children loved having Pinkie Pie around, but today, they all ignored her in favor of Spike. They were all gathered around the young dragon, which made him feel a bit self-conscious.

"A dragon at the school!" one of the fillies said. "We're getting a _dragon!_"

"Yeah, this is more exciting than the time Snails got his cutie mark at a Prench restaurant!" Snips said.

"Is it true that you can breathe _fire?_" Applebloom asked.

"Yeah, watch!" Spike said. He took a deep breath and let out some flame.

"Oooooo!" all the children said.

"How does that work?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Do you need fire to live?"

"Normally, I breathe air like everypony else," Spike said. "But I can heat up the air inside me and let it out as fire!"

"That's neat!" Snails said.

"If you can breathe out fire, can you also breathe out smoke?" Tootsie Flute asked.

"Uh huh," Spike said. "It feels kind of funny when I do that."

"Could you breathe fire_ in?_" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I don't know," Spike said. "I never tried."

"What are your parents like?" Twist asked. "Are they big and scary?"

"Well...um..." Spike said. "I don't really know my parents."

_"Really?"_ Scootaloo said, jumping forward in excitement. "Did they give you up for adoption?"

"Nopony knows who my dragon parents are," Spike shrugged. "Princess Celestia says she found me as an egg."

"You know Princess Celestia?" several ponies shouted at once. They all crowded in, shouting questions at the same time. Spike took a few steps backwards, unused to all this attention.


	4. Meeting New Ponies

"Well, that's taken care of!" Pinkie Pie said, as they left the school. "What next?"

"I should probably meet the other ponies who are helping with the Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight said. "They were...uh..."

"Fluttershy and Rarity!" Pinkie Pie said. "Oh, can I help, too? Can I? Can I? I _love_ throwing parties!"

"...Sure," Twilight said, with some reservations. "I have to review all the purchases, before you make them, though."

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "And I'm also going to throw a 'Welcome to Ponyville!' party for you and Spike this weekend! It's gonna be _super fun!_"

"We don't need a welcome party," Twilight said.

"Yes you _doooo!_" Pinkie sang. "You'll love it! Everypony gets their own Pinkie Pie Party when they move here!"

"I...okay," Twilight said, realizing that she probably couldn't say anything to change Pinkie's mind.

Twilight fell silent, as she followed behind the bouncing pink pony. Soon, they reached the market area, and Twilight's first impulse was to fly away to safety. Pegasi tend to feel claustrophobic in areas where they can't move around much, but in this case, it wasn't just the crowded space that disturbed Twilight. Her senses were being attacked by a variety of overpowering smells and equally overpowering vendors, who shouted as they walked past.

"Turnips! Turnips for sale!"

"Apples! Get your apples here!"

"Carrots! Tasty carrots!"

Twilight cringed a bit, causing Pinkie Pie to turn and look at her curiously.

"Something wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No, I..." Twilight said. She shook her head. "I just remembered, we need to get food."

"Food, you say?" one of the vendors—a yellow mare with an orange mane—asked. "Great! My carrots are the tastiest in all of Ponyville!"

"That's a load of hogwash!" said the mare in the stall next to her. The orange mare with a yellow mane adjusted her hat. "Why, everypony knows apples are healthier!"

"You're _both_ being silly!" Pinkie Pie said. "Everypony knows _I_ make the best food in town! Here, Twilight, have a free sample!"

Pinkie pulled out a plate, which had a brownie on top. Twilight wasn't sure where the food had come from, and she didn't get a chance to think about it, either. "No, no," Twilight said. "I...I didn't mean that I'm hungry now. I'm saying that we need food for the event."

"Sweet Apple Acres does a fine job of catering!" the mare with the hat said. "And our prices are real reasonable!"

"Fruits are _so_ last year!" the other mare said. "You'll want the special vegetable blends from my golden harvest for sure! What's the occasion?"

"The Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight said. "I've been put in charge of organizing it."

Both the farmer/salesponies gasped.

"_The Summer Sun Celebration?_" the carrot mare asked. "The one that Princess Celestia is going to attend?"

"I'll do it for free!" the apple mare said. "Feeding the royal princess would be an honor!"

"No, _I'll_ do it for free!" the carrot mare said. "The princess deserves the best, not some moldy apples which fell on the ground!"

"Are you calling my apples moldy?" the mare in the hat asked. "At least they don't grow in _dirt_ like your carrots do!"

The two mares started squabbling with each other about their food of choice. Pinkie took this opportunity to sidle up next to Twilight. "You know..." Pinkie whispered in Twilight's ear. "I heard Princess Celestia _loves_ cake! Sugarcube Corners makes some nice ones..."

"Okay, that's enough!" Twilight barked. "No more fighting!"

The three other ponies fell silent, and the two farmers glared at each other.

"Look, why don't _all_ of you work together to provide food for the event?" Twilight asked. "That way, there will be a variety of foods, and everypony will be happy."

"Sounds good to me," the apple mare said. "What 'bout you, Carrot Top?"

"I guess we could work together again," the carrot mare allowed.

"Great, they can do the main course, and Sugarcube Corner can do dessert!" Pinkie said. "Everypony will love it!"

"That sounds fantastic!" Twilight said. "And best of all, you said you'd work for free, so it won't cost us anything!"

The farmers shared a glance. With a silent nod, they immediately agreed to rescind their offer.

"Er, about that—"

"I may have been a bit too hasty—"

"I never agreed to work for free," Pinkie said bluntly.

"You're all so _generous_," Twilight said, purposely ignoring them. "It might even be _elemental_ to your natures! I'll make sure to mention that in my report to the Princess tonight! Can I have your names?"

"I'm Carrot Top," the carrot mare said.

"And I'm Applejack," the apple mare said.

"Great, thanks!" Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. I just moved here from Canterlot to study friendship for the university!"

The farmers looked confused. "Ponies study _friendship_ at the university?" Carrot Top asked.

"I thought universities were for fancy mathematics and such," Applejack said.

"Uh...friendship is more like a research project for me?" Twilight asked. She chuckled nervously under the stare of the two farmers.

* * *

"Why don't ponies believe me when I say I'm here to study friendship?" Twilight complained, once she and Pinkie had left the market.

"Maybe it's because schools don't offer degrees in friendship," Pinkie Pie guessed. "Or maybe it's because you're a grown-up, so you should already know how to make friends! Or...oh! I've got it! Maybe they don't believe you, because they suspect that you're on a top-secret mission from the Princess!"

"_What?_" Twilight burst out. "How did you know—?"

"It's kind of obvious," Pinkie Pie said. She gave Twilight a sideways hug. "But don't worry! I'll help you learn how to make friends! That's what I do best!"

"Oh, um...yeah," Twilight said, feeling very confused. Pinkie was a nice mare, but following Pinkie's thought processes was starting to give Twilight a headache.

"Anyway, here we are!" Pinkie said, pointing at a large blue building in front of them. Twilight looked up at it, confused.

"The Ponyville Day Spa?" Twilight asked. "Why are we here?"

"Because that's where Fluttershy and Rarity are, silly!" Pinkie said. "They always go to the spa on Tuesdays, you know."

_How was I supposed to know that?_ Twilight wondered, as she followed Pinkie inside. The spa's interior contained shades of pink and light teal, along with a few extra-fluffy couches. Peaceful flute music was playing in the background, and some ponies in robes were walking around.

"Are Fluttershy and Rarity here?" Pinkie Pie asked one of the workers. "We need to talk to them."

"They should be in the baths," the worker said.

"Great, thank you!" Pinkie Pie said. "That's this way, Twilight."

The two of them went down a small hall and through a door labeled "baths". This room was the pride and joy of the Ponyville spa; as the brochures proudly proclaimed, it was the largest indoor bath in over a hundred miles. It was kept heated at a constant temperature of ninety degrees, thanks to one of the unicorn staff workers who knew how to cast a warming spell.

The bath itself was rather grandiose, as polished stairs led around the sides and up to the top level. It was here where Fluttershy and Rarity were seated, letting the hot water soothe their bodies.

"Hi, Rarity! Hi, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie called, climbing up the stairs. Twilight chose to fly up to the bath area instead.

"Hi, Pinkie," Fluttershy said.

"Hello, Pinkie, dear," Rarity said. "What brings you here today? You don't usually go to the spa."

"I want to introduce you to my new friend, Twilight Sparkle!" Pinkie said, throwing a foreleg around Twilight. Twilight squirmed a bit at this.

"Charmed," Rarity said. "I am Rarity, the owner of the Carousel Boutique."

"I...I'm Fluttershy," Fluttershy said softly.

"Hello!" Twilight said.

"Twilight came all the way here to talk to you!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Is that right?" Rarity asked.

"I've been put in charge of the Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight said. "So I need to meet with all the volunteers. Fluttershy, you're going to be singing, correct?"

"Um..." Fluttershy said, turning red.

"I didn't know that," Rarity said. "Why, that's wonderful! You have such a lovely singing voice, darling."

"I love music!" Pinkie Pie said. "What songs are you going to pick?"

"Um, I'm sorry," Fluttershy said, sinking down in the water a bit. "But I'm not going to sing. My birds are."

"Your...birds?" Twilight asked.

"Fluttershy's special talent is dealing with animals," Pinkie Pie said. "Her birds are the best! They chirp extra beautiful, just for her."

Fluttershy smiled, relieved. "Exactly," she said. "I'm training a bird choir for the occasion."

"That sounds nice," Twilight said. "You'll have to give me a demonstration sometime. And Rarity, you're in charge of...decorations?"

"Exactly," Rarity said. "I've sketched out a few ideas for how we can set things up, and I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with the results. Making ponies look fabulous is my special talent."

"I've...never heard of anypony with that talent before," Twilight said.

"Oh, but it's true!" Rarity said. "You simply _must_ stop by boutique sometime! I'll prove it to you! Why, with the right dress—I'm thinking light purple—and a proper manecut, you'd look fantastic!"

Twilight's hoof went directly to her loose bangs. "What's wrong with my hair?" she asked, more defensively than she expected.

"Nothing, of course," Rarity assured her. "I just mean that...well, I imagine your bangs constantly get messed up whenever you go flying."

"That only happens when I fly too quickly," Twilight said.

"I think Twilight's mane looks nice," Fluttershy said. "Sometimes, I wish I had short hair."

"I've given up on trying to control _my_ hair," Pinkie Pie said. "I just let it do whatever it wants!"

"I noticed," Rarity said dryly.

Twilight frowned. She wasn't sure if she liked Rarity or not; the posh unicorn reminded her a bit too much of some of the snooty ponies back in Canterlot.

"Well, it was very nice to meet both of you," Twilight said. "I'll follow up with you both later this week, to make sure everything is good."

"That sounds nice," Rarity said. She shifted her upper body. "Won't you join us here in the water? It's _sooo_ warm."

"No, I have to get—" Twilight began.

"CANNONBALL!" Pinkie shouted. She ran and jumped into the bath, making the biggest splash she could.

"Pinkie!" Rarity and Twilight cried.

* * *

When Twilight left the spa, she decided to dry off by taking a quick nap on one of the clouds. She was still somewhat tired from her long flight that morning, and before she knew it, she had fallen fast asleep. She didn't wake up until the town's clock tower chimed three.

"Mmmm..." Twilight mumbled, as she turned over in her sleep. "Three o'clock. The big after-school rush is coming..."

Suddenly, she bolted upright. "Three o'clock!" she cried. "I have to pick up Spike!"

Twilight flew over the town, trying to remember where everything was. She found the market easily enough, and she knew how to get back to the library, but she hadn't been paying close enough attention when Pinkie took her to the schoolhouse.

Twilight eventually landed and asked for directions. By the time she reached Ponyville Elementary, it was 3:21, and almost all of the children had left.

"I am _so sorry,_" Twilight said, landing next to Cheerilee. "I got lost finding my way back here."

Cheerilee laughed. "No worries," she said. "It can be a bit confusing here, I know."

"Thank you so much for staying late," Twilight said. "I know you probably want to get home right away."

"Again, it's no problem," Cheerilee said. "I'm used to staying late. I can't leave here until all the children get picked up by their parents."

Twilight looked at the playground, where Spike was chatting with Scootaloo. "Glad to see I'm not the only parent who's late, then," she said.

"Er...Scootaloo is a special case," Cheerilee said. "I drop her off at the—at her home, after school every day."

"Why?" Twilight asked. "Can't her parents pick her up?"

"That's a private matter," Cheerilee said. She quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, let me tell you what happened with Spike today. Once you left—"

Cheerilee summarized what had happened over the past three hours. She promised to give Twilight a copy of the results of Spike's aptitude test, once it was graded, along with a list of supplies and schoolbooks that Spike would need. Twilight had experience in education—even if she had only worked as a university librarian, not a teacher—so she was able to share some insights with Cheerilee.

Once the discussion was over, Twilight walked towards Spike and Scootaloo. "Okay, Spike!" she said. "Let's go!"

"Okay," Spike said. "See you later Scootaloo."

"Bye!" Scootaloo said. She started a bit when she saw Twilight. "Wait, is that the pegasus you were talking about?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. Spike was talking about her at school?

"Uh huh!" Spike said.

Scootaloo bounded towards Twilight. "Is it true?" Scootaloo asked. "Did you _really_ fly all the way from Canterlot today?"

Twilight was a little surprised at the young filly's enthusiasm. "Um, yes," she said. "It took over two hours, but I flew all the way in one trip."

"She pulled me on a chariot the whole time," Spike added.

"Wow!" Scootaloo said. Scootaloo bounced a bit, and her wings fluttered in excitement. "That's so cool! Is that the farthest you've ever flown?"

"Definitely," Twilight said. "What about you?"

"I...um...I don't know how to fly yet," Scootaloo admitted. She closed her wings and looked down. "I've been hoping Rainbow Dash could help teach me, but..."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll learn soon enough," Twilight said, reassuringly. "Stop by the library someday, and I'll give you a book on flying for beginners, okay?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Okay!" she said.

"Nice meeting you...Scootaloo, right?" Twilight asked. Scootaloo nodded in response. "I'm Twilight, the new librarian. See you later!"

"Bye!" Scootaloo said, waving to Spike and Twilight as they left. Scootaloo smiled to herself, dreaming about the day she could fly across Equestria. She was brought back to reality when Cheerilee came up to her.

"Ready to go to the orphanage?" Cheerilee asked.

"Yeah, let me get my scooter first," Scootaloo said. She ran to the schoolhouse to retrieve her favorite possession.

"Don't forget your helmet!" Cheerilee called at the retreating filly's back.

* * *

Spike and Twilight spent some time getting their things settled in the library, before going out for dinner. It wasn't until later that night that Twilight got down to business and started interrogating Spike about the ponies at the school.

"I agree that Cheerilee seems like a very nice pony," Twilight said, writing down the teacher's name on a chart. "So who's the class clown?"

"The what?" Spike asked.

"You know, the pony who tells jokes all the time and interrupts the class," Twilight said. "Almost every school has a class clown."

"Well...Diamond Tiara was always whispering things to Silver Spoon, and then they'd laugh," Spike said. "Is that what you mean?"

"It's close enough," Twilight said, writing down Diamond Tiara's name as well. She put the pen away, then picked up the posterboard she had been writing on. She propped it up against a wall so Spike could read it easily.

"What do you think of this chart?" Twilight asked, looking proud of herself.

**Possible Elements of Harmony Bearers**

1. Element of Kindness—Cheerilee  
2. Element of Generosity—Applejack, Carrot Top, Pinkie Pie  
3. Element of Laughter—Diamond Tiara  
4. Element of Loyalty—?  
5. Element of Honesty—?  
6. Unknown Element—?

"Um, half of the board is empty," Spike said.

"I know," Twilight said. "But unless the final element is _party-throwing _or _fabulosity_, I don't think anypony else I met goes in the other spots."

"How do we find the others?" Spike asked.

"Finding the Element of Honesty should be easy," Twilight said. "We need to put everypony in a situation where they want to lie. I already have something in mind..."

"What?" Spike asked.

"Do you know the story of _The Empress' New Clothes_?" Twilight asked.

"No," Spike said.

"Never mind, then," Twilight sighed. So much for showing off her brilliant plan. "Let's just get started on a letter to the Princess."

* * *

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_Spike and I arrived safely in Ponyville. After meeting with the mayor, we were shown around town by a helpful mare named Pinkie Pie. I enrolled Spike in the local elementary school, and I met with the two mares who are helping with the Summer Sun Celebration._

_We have already found some ponies who we think could be the Elements of Harmony. I'm including our chart with this letter. Cheerilee is the local school teacher, while Applejack and Carrot Top are farmers who generously agreed to cater the Summer Sun Celebration for free. Diamond Tiara is the class clown, and Pinkie Pie, like I said before, is the mare who showed us around town._

_We had a question about the Element of Loyalty, though. Does it refer to being loyal to a specific thing, or just loyalty in general? There are lots of things a pony can be loyal to. Maybe one of the Royal Guards could wield that Element? They're extremely loyal to you, and I'm sure my brother would love to volunteer for such an important duty._

_We'll keep searching for the Elements of Harmony, until we find the right ponies. Once we have the right ponies—and once you approve of them, of course—I'll tell them about Princess Luna and everything. I'm sure we'll be able to save her soon._

_Your friend,  
Twilight Sparkle_

_PS. Some of the ponies here don't believe me, when I say I'm here to study friendship. Would it be better if I said I'm here to study Earth pony culture?_


	5. The Hat and the Element of Honesty

The Golden Oaks Library was not always a library. It used to be the Golden Oaks Bookstore, run by a pair of book-loving Earth ponies named Dewey DeSeemal and B. Blio File. The two of them worked as the town's librarians until their retirement.

As Twilight soon found out, Miss File did not live up to her last name.

"Who was in charge of this library?" Twilight wondered, after finding adult romance novels in the section for fillies' books. "I'm going to have to re-sort and organize everything!"

Twilight's effort to sort all the books in the library lasted for exactly twelve minutes. It ended when she found a new book that she just _had_ to read, and before she knew it, she had spent the entire day reading.

That was Twilight's first Friday in Ponyville. Saturday was a bit more important, because that was when Pinkie had scheduled the official "Welcome to Ponyville, Twilight and Spike" party. Twilight knew the party would be the perfect opportunity for her to find the Element of Honesty.

All she had to do was wear...The Hat.

Shining Armor bought Twilight The Hat as a joke, five years ago. It was a horrendous monstrosity, which made fashion designers weep at the sight of it. The Hat wasn't just _a_ fashion disaster; it was _the_ fashion disaster, the one which caused the fashion apocalypse and forever destroyed good taste in headwear. It was a hideous mix of beige and hot pink, with green-striped polka dots. The fabric, which looked more like sand paper than silk, was curled and swirled around in a haphazard manner, making it seem like the top of Twilight's head was vomiting. Most ponies, upon seeing The Hat, felt like vomiting themselves.

_Now to make sure this works,_ Twilight thought. _Rarity will make a good test subject_.

Twilight adjusted The Hat, then knocked on the door of Rarity's house. Shortly after this, Rarity opened the door with her magic and stepped outside. She began with her standard greeting for new customers. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is—_augh!_"

Twilight smiled. "Hello, Rarity," she said. "I'm here about the—"

"Quick, quick, come _inside!_" Rarity said, almost dragging Twilight through the doorway. "You don't want to be seen in _public_ like that!"

"Like what?" Twilight asked, pretending not to know what Rarity was talking about.

"Like..._that!_" Rarity said. "Where in the wild, wild world of Equestria did you get that hat?"

Twilight smiled. "This hat was a gift from Princess Celestia," she said.

Rarity froze in place. "The _Princess_ gave you _that_ hat?" she asked.

"Uh huh. It's my favorite piece of clothing," Twilight said. "Do you like it?"

"I...I..." Rarity said. Struggling against her inner fashionista, she forced a fake smile. "It's lovely, darling."

"You really think so?" Twilight asked.

"It's...very unique," Rarity said. She chuckled nervously. "So what brings you to my shop...Twilight, was it?"

"Uh huh," Twilight said. "I came to see your decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Oh, yes!" Rarity said. "I have them all drawn out. I made two different sketches, so you can choose which one you like best."

Twilight was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Rarity's plans. The two ponies spent some time discussing the pros and cons of the two decorating schemes. Things were going well, until Twilight made the mistake of mentioning her home town.

"You're from _CANTERLOT?_" Rarity practically shouted. "I have always _dreamed_ of living there! The glamor, the sophistication! You simply _have_ to tell me all about it!"

Twilight took a step backwards. "Well, it's very clean," she said.

"Oh, dear, this will not do!" Rarity said. "I simply cannot allow my new friend from _Canterlot_ to leave here, without a new outfit! After all, you're hosting a party this afternoon!"

Rarity forced Twilight to try on at least twenty different outfits, and four different manedos. It took over an hour before Rarity found something she was satisfied with.

"_There_ you go!" Rarity said. "The shoulders on that dress are _perfect!_ Of course, it doesn't _quite_ match your hat, so you'll have to leave the hat here..."

Twilight grabbed The Hat before Rarity could get her hooves on it and throw it into the nearest dumpster. "I'm not giving up my hat," Twilight said, putting it on her head. "Thank you very much for the dress, Rarity, but I _really_ have to get going now. I wasn't planning on staying here this long..."

"Yes, yes, yes, sorry for keeping you," Rarity said. "I'll see you later today, okay, darling? And _do_ rethink wearing that hat, will you? It might be a bit..._much_ for the occasion."

"Okay," Twilight said. "See you later, Rarity."

_I knew it!_ Twilight thought happily, as she left the Carousel Boutique. _Only a really honest pony would tell me the truth about The Hat. They'd all rather lie than risk offending the Princess._

* * *

Twilight's plan to find an honest pony had a minor flaw. It operated on the principle that ponies would rather lie than offend Princess Celestia. However, there was one dishonest pony in Equestria who didn't care a bit if he offended Princess Celestia or not.

Shortly before Twilight's party started, Princess Celsetia stepped into the room of this dishonest, hateful pony.

"Hello, Aunt Celestia," Prince Blueblood said, disdainfully. "Why are _you_ here?"

"Hello, Blueblood," Celestia said. "How have your magic studies been progressing?"

Blueblood shot her a dirty look. "They haven't," he said bluntly. "Not since you kicked me out of your school."

Celestia sighed. Why was Blueblood always so confrontational? "I told you before that I didn't have a choice," Celestia said. "You knew the rules when you broke them."

"Rules are for commoners, not for royalty," Blueblood said.

This was an argument the two of them had been through, multiple times. Blueblood insisted that he was free from the obligations of law and morality, simply because his great-great-great-grandfather had been made an honorary prince. In fact, the only law Blueblood respected was the rather obscure one that allowed him to claim royal status, as the last remaining descendant of Prince Bluebill.

Celestia knew this was not the time to get into a discussion about laws. "Nevertheless, how are your magic studies going?" she asked. "Have you learned any new spells recently?"

"No," Blueblood said. "Why would I?"

"Because magic is your special talent," Celestia said. She pointed towards Blueblood's cutie mark: two overlapping compass stars, similar to the symbol for the Element of Magic.

"I don't know _why_ you keep insisting that I could be a magical genius," Blueblood said. "I don't _need _to use magic. I have servants to do everything I want."

"Are you saying you don't use magic?" Celestia asked.

"Well, I use a couple of spells to help me with the mares," Blueblood said, grinning saucily. "That's probably not what you mean, though."

Celestia groaned. "Don't tell me you are _still_ treating mares like—"

"Like what, the garbage they are?" Blueblood asked. "Honestly, even _you_ couldn't defend the way they throw themselves at me."

"And _you_ cannot defend the way you take advantage of them," Celestia said. "Mares are not toys for your amusement. They should be treated with respect."

"Oh, trust me, I stay _far_ away from respectable mares," Blueblood said. "They're not fun in the slightest."

"Your definition of 'fun' needs a complete overhaul," Princess Celestia said.

"Blah, blah, blah. Is there a _reason_ you've come here, or do you just want to lecture me on how I'm a horrible pony?" Prince Blueblood snapped.

Princess Celestia frowned. "I came here, because you're in charge of organizing the Grand Galloping Gala this year," she said. "I need two tickets."

"Please, don't be ridiculous," Blueblood said. "You've already got a space on the guest list."

"They're not for me," Celestia said. "They're for somepony else."

"Who?" Blueblood asked.

"...I don't think you need to know," Celestia said.

"Somepony I don't like, then?" Blueblood asked. "Or are you plotting something? Hoping to invite ruffians to destroy the gala and ruin my reputation?"

"I think you're ruining your reputation enough as it is, without the need for outside help," Celestia said.

Blueblood and Celestia glared at each other for a moment, before he laughed. "Oh, Aunt Celestia, you _are_ ridiculous sometimes," Blueblood said. "So old-fashioned and self-righteous. It's so amusing, I almost feel tempted to forgive you for ruining my life."

"_You_ ruined your life, not me," Celestia said. "You also ruined the lives of several other ponies."

"Yes, I suppose I did," Blueblood allowed. "But that was _years_ ago. You really need to get over it. _I_ certainly stopped caring about it long ago."

"You never care about anypony but yourself, that's the problem," Celestia said. "The tickets?"

"Yes, yes, you can have your silly tickets," Blueblood said. He levitated a box over from a nearby table. Opening it, he removed a stack of twenty tickets. "Have as many as you need. We can't let our precious princess be deprived."

"Thank you," Celestia said, accepting the tickets.

"Why, you're _welcome_, Auntie," Blueblood said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a poni-pedi scheduled, so unless you wish to reveal your ulterior motive for visiting me, please leave."

Celestia sighed heavily. "You may not believe it, but I _do_ have your best interests at heart," she said.

"I don't believe that for a moment," Blueblood said. "Now get out of my way."

Blueblood shoved past Celestia and left the room, his head high in the air. The Equestrian Monarch stayed behind in the room for a moment, before leaving herself, trying to think of a good way to reform Blueblood. Perhaps a direct hit to the face with the Elements of Harmony would work?

* * *

"Hello, and welcome to the party!" Twilight said, opening the front door.

"Hi...uh..." Carrot Top said, a little taken aback.

"You like my hat? Princess Celestia gave it to me!" Twilight said.

"Like it? I _love_ it!" Carrot Top said. "I don't wear hats myself—too much hair—but it looks good on you!"

"That's nice," Twilight said. "So come in! We've got food and music, and over by the nonfiction section, everypony is playing 'Know Your Neighbor'!"

"I never heard of that game," Carrot Top said.

"Oh, it's loads of fun," Twilight said. She had made up the game herself. To play, a group of five ponies got together, and answered questions about each other. Each pony answered separately, and in the end, they compared all their answers.

It was a casual game, intended to help ponies learn new things about each other and share a few laughs. Normally, the game featured fun questions like "Who will be the first to get married and why?" and "What do you think about socks?". Twilight Sparkle, being a master of subtlety, had picked questions like "Who is the most loyal pony you know?" and "Which member of the group is most generous?".

Another pony knocked on the front door. "Oh, excuse me!" Twilight said. She ran to answer it. "Hello, and welcome! Yes, it _is_ a nice hat, isn't it?"

For Twilight, there wasn't much to the party, other than that. All she did was answer the door, and answer the door, and answer the door. Everypony had a different reaction to The Hat, all of them predictably positive.

"The Princess gave you that hat? How kind of her! It's so pretty!"—Fluttershy

"I've never seen a hat _quite_ like that before."—Cheerilee

"If'n you like it, I won't complain!"—Applejack

"Eeeyup,"—Big Macintosh

Twilight was interiorly upset at how things were going. Was it too much to hope that _one_ pony would be honest with her? It wasn't like they'd be sent to the moon if they told the truth about The Hat! Twilight seriously did not want her next letter to the Princess to look like this:

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_I am sorry to report that the Element of Harmony does not live in Ponyville. Everypony in this town is a liar. Also, they now think you have terrible taste in hats. Sorry._

_—Twilight Sparkle_

Twilight sighed as she opened up the door again. "Hello, Rarity," she said. "Welcome to the party!"

"Hello, darling," Rarity said. Rarity was wearing one of her casual party dresses. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought my little sister along. She says that she goes to school with your assistant, Spoke."

"It's Spike," Twilight said. "And he's more like a little brother than an assistant."

From across the room, Spike thought he heard his name. He turned to look at the doorway, and his jaw instantly dropped as a heavenly vision of loveliness entered the library. She was an alabaster mare with a curly mane of deep purple. Her casual dress hinted at a profound elegance, and all in all, it reminded Spike of a storybook about beautiful princesses.

_She had a coat  
As white as snow  
With curly hair  
And heart aglow_

_With eyebrows short  
And lashes tall  
She is the fairest  
Of them all_

_In all the world,  
None can compare  
To the loveliness  
Of this gorgeous mare_

His heart felt like it was expanding, making it hard to breathe. _Snow White has come to life, and she is at my party,_ Spike thought. _Nopony pinch me. I don't want to wake up from this dream._

"Spike, are you okay?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Who's _that?_" Spike sighed.

"Who?" Pinkie Pie asked. She followed Spike's gaze. "Oh, that's Rarity. She's probably here with Sweetie Belle. Yep, there she is!"

Sweetie Belle stepped into the doorway and stood next to Rarity. The family resemblance between the two was unmistakeable, and Spike felt his heart smash to the ground.

"They're _related?_" Spike gasped.

"Uh huh!" Pinkie Pie said. "One time, Rarity styled Sweetie Belle's mane so they looked like twins! Oh my gosh, that was _so cute!_"

_Great. Just great, _Spike thought, disappointed_. The most beautiful mare I've ever seen, and she already has a full-grown daughter. Guess that means I can't go out with her._

_Still,_ Spike considered. _Sweetie's mom has got it going on._

* * *

Rarity and Sweetie Belle were the last two ponies to arrive, because Rarity had insisted on being casually late. For the next fifteen minutes, Twilight wallowed in the swamp of politely dishonest ponies, even though she wanted to fly up to her room and complain angrily.

_I can't even do research on the other elements!_ Twilight thought bitterly. _Diamond Tiara's not here, so I can't double-check to see if she's really the Element of Laughter! I mean, I could check to see if the farmer ponies are all generous, but that's pointless! I know they're generous—they all gave me a pack of lies!_

***knock knock knock***

Twilight snapped out of her internal monologue and raced to the door. "I've got it!" she cried. She pulled the top half of the front door inside and saw...nopony.

"Huh?" Twilight asked.

"Uh...is this the library?" a voice asked.

Twilight hovered a foot or to, so she could lean over the door. Sitting on the other side of the door was a nervous-looking Scootaloo.

"Oh, hey, Scootaloo," Twilight said. "Come on in!"

"Thanks," Scootaloo said. Scootaloo gave a half-laugh of relief, as Twilight opened the bottom half of the front door. "I was kind of worried. I can't let the other ponies—what's going on?"

"It's the welcome party for me and Spike," Twilight said.

"Oh..." Scootaloo said, stopping. "In that case, I should _probably_ get going, and—"

"Hold it," Twilight said, putting out a wing to block Scootaloo's escape. "You can't leave! You just got here."

"Yeah, but..." Scootaloo said, looking nervously around the room.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

Scootaloo gestured towards Twilight's head, and Twilight leaned in close to her. "I don't want anypony to know I'm getting flying books from the library!" she whispered. "The other pegasi will tease me about it!"

"There's no reason to feel ashamed about it," Twilight said. "I learned how to fly from a library book."

"Yeah, but you're a librarian!" Scootaloo said. "It's different!"

Twilight laughed. "I wasn't a librarian when I was your age," she said. "Look, if anypony asks, we can say you're here for the party. I'll check out the books for you when nopony's looking, okay?"

"Okay," Scootaloo agreed, somewhat hesitantly.

"Great," Twilight said. "Now let's go get some food. You look hungry."

That changed Scootaloo's mood. "I _love_ snack food!" Scootaloo said, as the two of them walked to the food table.

Twilight smiled as the little filly attacked the bowl of chips. "You have fun, Scootaloo," she said.

"This is great! Thanks, Twilight!" Scootaloo said. "Here, you have some!" Scootaloo scooped up a hoofful of chips and held them out to Twilight.

Twilight scrunched her face up; she wasn't willing to eat out of somepony else's hooves. "Uh...where am I supposed to hold these?" she asked.

"On your hat," Scootaloo. "That's why you're wearing such a big hat, right? So you can put things on it."

"What? No, silly," Twilight laughed. "I'm wearing this hat because it's a present from Princess Celestia."

"But it's ugly!" Scootaloo said. "Why would the Princess give you something like that?"

"It's not ugly; it's—" Twilight began, then stopped. It took her an astonished moment to realize what just happened. "YES!" Twilight shouted. She flew a foot into the air and struck a victory pose. "This _is_ an ugly hat!"

Twilight threw The Hat on the ground and stomped on it. One or two of the ponies in attendance (aka Rarity) cheered at this. Using her mouth, Twilight threw The Hat into the garbage, where it was never heard from again.

Twilight picked up Scootaloo and hugged her. "Thank you, Scootaloo!" Twilight said. "You're so nice and _honest!_"

"Um...you're welcome?" Scootaloo said, feeling a bit awkward to be hugged by a near-stranger. "All I did was say your hat is ugly..."

Twilight put Scootaloo back down. "You know what? I have an idea!" Twilight said. "I'm going to teach you how to fly!"

_"What?"_ Scootaloo asked.

"Sure! I owe you for telling me about my hat!" Twilight said, smiling. A faint shadow darkened Twilight's face. "And let's just say, I know how tough it is when nopony in your family can help teach you how to fly."

"Yes!" Scootaloo said. "Yes, please teach me! That would be _perfect!_"

Awkwardness forgotten, Scootaloo grabbed Twilight's forelegs and hugged them as hard as she could. Twilight smiled at this. Who knew the Element of Honesty would be a little filly?

The somewhat tender moment was ruined, when Spike belched loudly from across the room.

"EW!" Pinkie Pie said. "_Gross_, Spike!"

"It's not my fault!" Spike said quickly. "It's a letter from the Princess!"

Spike bent down to pick up the scroll, when he belched a second time. Two golden pieces of paper fluttered to the ground, and Pinkie Pie instantly recognized what they were.

_"Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?"_ Pinkie Pie shouted.

There was a gasp as everypony in the library turned their attention to Pinkie and Spike.


	6. An Unexpected Lesson

When the party was over, and when Twilight had gone through the responses to "Know Your Neighbor", it was time to update the list.

**Possible Elements of Harmony Bearers**

1. Element of Honesty—Scootaloo (confirmed)  
2. Element of Kindness—Cheerilee, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie  
3. Element of Generosity—Applejack, Carrot Top, Bon Bon, Pinkie Pie  
4. Element of Laughter—Diamond Tiara, Screwball, Derpy Hooves, Vinyl Scratch, Pinkie Pie  
5. Element of Loyalty—Big Macintosh, Pinkie Pie  
6. Unknown Element—?

"Hmmm..." Twilight said, going over the list. It looked like Pinkie Pie nominated herself for everything. Maybe the party game wasn't a very good idea for finding the Elements of Harmony.

"Hey, you got one of them!" Spike commented. "Looks like the party was a success!"

"Yeah, no thanks to _you_, Mr. Chaos," Twilight said.

"Hey, it's not my fault everypony went crazy when they saw those gala tickets," Spike said.

"I know you didn't do anything wrong," Twilight sighed. "Still, it ruined the party."

"At least we get to keep the leftover food," Spike said. "So, figured out who you're taking to the gala? Got a _special somepony _in mind?"

"Of course not," Twilight said. "I haven't dated since...well, it doesn't matter."

"I wouldn't mind taking Sweetie Belle's mother to the gala..." Spike said dreamily. "She was _cuuute._"

"Ew, Spike!" Twilight said. "Sweetie Belle is still in grade school! Her mom must be four times older than you are!"

"But she's really beautiful!" Spike said, as if that explained things.

"You're still a _baby_ dragon," Twilight said. "No dating until you're _at least_ a teenager."

"You're not my mom," Spike said, crossing his arms.

"I'm still in charge of you until we find the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said. "Do you want me to tell Princess Celestia that you're chasing after an adult mare who is probably already married?"

"No..." Spike said. "I know it would never work out between us. I'm just saying that she's cute."

"Well, we're not looking for cute ponies," Twilight said. "We're looking for _these_ ponies. And you know...I think I see a pattern here! The only ponies that were nominated for the Element of Generosity were food ponies!"

"Food ponies?" Spike asked.

"Earth ponies, I mean," Twilight said. "But if that's true...oh my gosh! I think I've got it!"

"Got it?" Spike asked. "Got _what?_"

"Hold on, I need to double-check," Twilight said. She flew directly to the reference section of the library. "_Please_ let this library have a copy of The Cutie Mark Encyclopedia!" she said to herself, as she scanned the shelf. "Please, please, NO? Augh!"

Twilight let out a sigh of frustration, then flew back over to Spike and the chart. "Never mind," she said.

"What was _that_ all about?" Spike asked.

"Well, for a second there, I thought I figured out what the missing element is," Twilight said. She pointed at a sketch of the missing element, copied from the stained-glass window Princess Celestia had shown her. "It looks sort of like a star, right?"

"Yeah," Spike said. "Except it's red."

"Well, unicorns usually have cutie marks about stars and magic," Twilight said. "Sort of like how Earth ponies usually have cutie marks about food or nature."

"So that means the missing element is a unicorn?" Spike asked excitedly.

"It's possible," Twilight said. "I wanted to check The Cutie Mark Encyclopedia first, but I guess they don't have it. I'll have to see if the Canterlot Library can ship it here."

* * *

The next morning, Spike and Twilight decided to split up, while investigating the town. Spike wanted to meet all the possible Elements of Generosity, which left Twilight to meet the ponies who were suggested as the Element of Laughter.

Twilight soon regretted this decision. Without Spike to serve as a barrier, the ponies in town unrelentingly attacked her about the tickets to the gala.

"Twilight, can I come with you to the Gala?"

"I'll clean your house if you take me!"

"Only the best pony in town should go, and that's _me!_"

"I've always wanted to meet Princess Celestia!"

"I made up a song about how I want to go! _At the Gala, at the Gala..._"

And so on. Twilight eventually started tuning them out, so she could focus on the task at hand. Sadly, the ponies that Twilight was meeting with weren't much better than the crowd of gala-lovers.

"So, Screwball, was it?" Twilight asked.

"BBBBLLTH!" Screwball said, blowing a raspberry at Twilight.

"I heard that you're a pretty funny pony," Twilight said. "You like to make ponies laugh?"

"Bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy," Screwball said, running her hoof up and down her lips.

"Do you know any jokes?" Twilight asked.

"I do know one," Screwball said, speaking in a sophisticated Manehatten accent. "A unicorn from Canterlot was putting on a dinner party one night, when a pair of Earth ponies broke in, uninvited. They stomped on the carpet with their muddy hooves, getting dirt everywhere. The unicorn told them to get out of the hallway. They asked if he was trying to get rid of them, and he responded, '_If the shoo fits!_'"

Screwball smacked the propeller on her beanie and struck a pose. "Get it? Shoo? Like, horseshoe?"

"...I get it," Twilight said.

"Great," Screwball said. "I was worried that joke only made..._horse sense!_ HA HA! Bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy!"

..._NOT the Element of Laughter,_ Twilight decided.

* * *

Twilight caught up with the local mailmare, about forty feet above the ground. Derpy Hooves was a gray pegasus with bubbles for a cutie mark, and she wore a pleasant expression on her face.

"So, your name is Derpy Hooves," Twilight said. "Why does everypony in town find you so amusing?"

"I dunno," Derpy said, in a perfectly normal voice. "To be honest, I'm not that great. I'm sort of a klutz."

"Well, what do you do that ponies like so much?" Twilight inquired.

"Stuff like this," Derpy said. She screwed up her eyes, then shouted, "MUFFINS!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "...And ponies find that amusing?" she said.

"They find it _hilarious_," Derpy said, blinking a few times to get her eyes back to normal. "Honestly, I just don't know what they're thinking sometimes. I'm really nothing special, but they act like I'm the best pony in the world."

"That _does_ seem odd," Twilight agreed. "Oh well. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Derpy."

"You're welcome. See you later, Twilight!" Derpy called.

* * *

"You must be Vinyl Scratch," Twilight said.

"That's me," Vinyl said. "Vinyl Scratch, master of epic wubs! You're the new librarian, Twilight Sparkle."

"...Epic wubs?" Twilight asked.

"I heard you got an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala," Vinyl said. "Any chance you could take me? I would _love_ to shake that scene up!"

"I haven't decided who I'm taking yet," Twilight said.

"That's cool," Vinyl said. "I think my friend's gonna be playing there, so I'll try to get a ticket from her. So what brings you to my pad?"

"I heard that you're pretty entertaining," Twilight said. "Is that true?"

"Of coooourse!" Vinyl said. "You're not hardcore, unless you wub hardcore, you know? And I wub harder than anypony else!"

"Wub?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, let me show you," Vinyl said. Vinyl led Twilight across the trash-covered floor of her apartment to the other side of the room, where some bean bag chairs were a few feet from a set of large speakers.

Vinyl left Twilight alone by the speakers, while she went to put a record on the record machine. This ended up being a bad idea. Twilight had never seen speakers before, so started fiddling with them to see what they did. Turning the knobs didn't seem to do anything.

Twilight stuck her head inside the hollowed-out area of the speaker on the right. "What is this, some kind of coffee maker?" she asked.

"Twi, not so close to the speakers!" Vinyl yelled in warning.

***BLAJASHINO!*** went the speakers. At least, that's what it sounded like when they exploded and sent Twilight flying into the wall. Twilight's leg started twitching erratically as she slumped to the floor.

"Oh..." Vinyl said. "They aren't supposed to do that..."

* * *

_Well, this entire mess has been a complete waste of my time,_ Twilight thought. Instead of walking, she was flying about twenty feet in the air, in order to avoid being bothered by gala-lovers. _I guess the only comedians left are Diamond Tiara and Pinkie Pie. I'm not sure where I'll find them, though..._

Twilight noticed she was flying near the food market, and she decided to stop by and check on Spike's progress. She landed just in time to see Spike get chewed out by an angry unicorn and upset Earth pony, outside of a candy store.

"I know you think you're a hotshot, because you have hands!" the light-green unicorn said. "But keep those grubby things _off_ of our food!"

"Bon Bon said I could have a sample!" Spike complained.

The Earth pony, who had a curly mane of two colors, shook her head. "I said _a_ sample, not five!"

Twilight walked up. "Is something wrong here?" she asked. "Did Spike do something?"

"Yeah!" the unicorn said, turning to Twilight. "He's been trying to get free food from our candy store all day!"

"I'm trying to find the most generous pony in town!" Spike said. "You know how it is, Twi!"

Twilight sighed. "I'll pay for whatever he took," she said. "How much is it?"

The green unicorn looked at Twilight appraisingly. "You're the new librarian, right?" she asked.

"Uh huh," Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm Bon Bon, and this is Lyra," the Earth pony said, pointing at her companion.

"If you're Twilight, that means your dragon buddy here ate about two gala tickets' worth of food," the unicorn said. She held out a hoof. "Hand them over now."

"Lyra!" the Earth pony said. "What are you doing?"

Lyra grinned sheepishly. "It was worth a shot," she said, chuckling half-heartedly.

The Earth pony sighed. "He ate ten bits' worth of food," she said. "But...tell you what. If you sweep the store, I'll let you have it for five."

"What a generous offer!" Twilight said. She turned to Spike. "Spike, get to it!"

"Huh? Me?" Spike asked. "Can't you sweep the floor with your wings, like you did earlier?"

"I'm not the one who ate all of Bon Bon's food," Twilight said.

Spike grumbled, as he went into the store, to sweep everything. Lyra followed to keep a close eye on Spike.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm _so sorry_ about this," she said to Bon Bon. "He's just a baby dragon. He still hasn't learned how to take responsibility for his actions."

"It's okay," Bon Bon said. "So...do you _really_ have tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?"

"Just two," Twilight said. "One for me and a guest."

"I'd _love_ to go," Bon Bon said. "I've heard the desserts they have there are _fabulous!_ I could try them out and get new ideas for my candy store!"

"That sounds nice," Twilight said. "I've never been to the Grand Galloping Gala, myself. I'm not sure what it's going to be like."

"Yoo HOO! Twilight!" a regal voice called from the distance.

Twilight groaned. She knew _that_ voice. The local "I wish I was from Canterlot" fashion designer, Rarity.

Sure enough, Rarity soon appeared. "Twilight! I've been looking all over for you!" she said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you about the Grand Galloping Gala!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you want to go?" she asked.

Rarity laughed. "Do you have to ask?" she asked. "I've _love_ to go. Sadly, the closest I've ever come to attending is designing the ensembles for some of the guests. Which brings me to my point—"

"No, I don't know who's getting the extra ticket yet," Twilight said, in a bored, monotone voice.

"I want to make your dress for the—what?" Rarity asked. "The..._extra_ ticket?"

"I thought you said you only had two tickets," Bon Bon said. "One for you and one for the dragon."

"Spike doesn't want to go," Twilight said.

"You mean the second ticket is _free?_" Rarity asked. She squealed. "This is _perfect!_ You can take _me!_ Oh, the society, the culture, the glamor! It's where I truly belong, and where I'm destined to meet _him_."

"Him?" Bon Bon asked. "Who?"

"Him," Rarity said passionately, preparing to go into a monologue. "I would stroll through the gala, and everyone would wonder, 'Who _is_ that mysterious mare?' They would never guess that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville. Why, I would cause such a sensation that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself, and the Princess would be so taken with my style and elegance that she would introduce me to _him_."

"Who are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Why, Prince Blueblood, of course!" Rarity said.

Twilight choked on air. "_Prince Blueblood?_" she asked.

"He's the most handsome, eligible unicorn stallion in Canterlot. Our eyes would meet, our hearts would melt, our—"

_"Are you CRAZY?"_ Twilight shouted. _"Prince Blueblood is the most self-centered scumbag on the ENTIRE PLANET!"_

Rarity halted in her tale of romantic courtship. "Twilight, are you okay?" she asked.

"No, I'm not okay!" Twilight said, stamping her hoof and flaring her wings. "Do you know what he _does_ to ponies? Do you know what he did to _me?_"

"I didn't know you two were acquainted," Rarity said cautiously.

"I wish I never met him!" Twilight said. "I wouldn't wish him on my worst enemy! Which is a stupid thing to say, because he _is_ my worst enemy! I can't believe you have a crush on him!"

"Well, I wouldn't say it's a _crush_," Rarity said. "It's more like...infatuation?"

Twilight's face was scrunched up with emotion. "I...I can't do this," Twilight said suddenly. "I have to go. GOOD BYE!" Twilight flew away so quickly that a small wind blew Rarity and Bon Bon's manes to the side.

"That was strange," Bon Bon said. "I wonder what the Prince did to her."

"I don't know..." Rarity said. "But I'm going to find out. Blueblood may be a prince, but Twilight is my friend."

* * *

***knock knock knock***

"Read the sign! We're closed!"

***knock knock knock* **

"Twilight, are you in there?" Rarity called from outside the Golden Oaks Library.

"I said we're closed!"

***knock knock knock***

"Twilight, if you can hear me, I'm coming inside!" Rarity said. She used her unicorn magic to open the door and let herself in.

Twilight Sparkle was lying on the couch, covered in tissues. She tried to hide her face when Rarity stepped in. "I don't want to see anypony!" Twilight said.

Rarity's heart was panged at the scene. "Twilight...you're crying," Rarity said softly.

Twilight looked at Rarity through teary eyes. She tried shaking her head, but her vision suddenly became filled with dark purple, as Rarity ran over and immediately embraced Twilight in a hug.

Twilight burst into tears. "Rarity!" she said.

"Shhhh, don't cry," Rarity said. "It's okay. Whatever's wrong, I can help you."

"You...you can't help me!" Twilight wailed. "I'm hideous and nopony likes me!"

"That's ridiculous!" Rarity said. "You are beautiful, and lots of ponies like you!"

Twilight shoved Rarity aside. "Just...just go away!" Twilight said. "Leave me alone!"

Rarity flipped her mane over her shoulder. It was now messed up, and part of it was covered with tears, but the white unicorn could care less about that at the moment.

"Twilight Sparkle, I am not leaving you here like this!" Rarity said in a bossy voice. "You are my friend, and I'm not going to let you suffer alone! I won't leave until you're one hundred percent better!"

Twilight sniffed. "I...I can't..." she said. "I can't tell anypony about it..."

"I can guess what this is about, you know," Rarity said. "Was it Prince Blueblood? Did he do something to hurt you?"

Twilight nodded sadly. "Yes..." she said.

Rarity put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Please, tell me what happened," she said. "I promise I won't judge you or do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. I just want to know."

"O...okay," Twilight said. She sat down on her haunches and took a deep breath. "I don't...I don't know where to start."

"Start at the beginning," Rarity said. "How did you know the Prince?"

"He...he was my coltfriend," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia warned me to stay away from him, but I...I didn't listen."

"Oh, dear," Rarity said. Suddenly, she knew this would not be a happy story.

"He was my first coltfriend," Twilight said. "Well, my _only_ coltfriend. I loved him so much...dating a Prince...it was like a dream come true."

Rarity silently berated herself, for her foolish fairy tale dreams of meeting the Prince and falling instantly in love. "I'm sorry," Rarity said. "What went wrong?"

"He started pressuring me," Twilight said. "He wanted me to do things I was uncomfortable with. When I said no, he got mad."

"Did he dump you?" Rarity asked. "I had a coltfriend like that once, and let me tell you that they're not worth—"

"That wasn't it," Twilight said in a small voice. "It...it was worse."

"What happened?" Rarity asked.

"It was Hearts and Hooves Day," Twilight said. "I snuck into his apartment to give him a surprise gift and..." Tears reappeared in Twilight's eyes, but she kept going. "He was with another mare!"

Rarity gasped. "No!" she said.

"They were...they were..." Twilight said. She gulped for air; she couldn't say it.

"Kissing?" Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head. "They were doing a lot more than just kissing," she said.

Rarity hugged Twilight again. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm so, so sorry."

Twilight hugged Rarity back. "I never thought I'd get my heart broken on Hearts and Hooves Day," she said. "That was two years ago, and it still hurts like crazy."

Rarity patted Twilight's back. "I know just how you feel," Rarity said. "But you can't let that stop you from finding another colt. Just because that scumbag prince used you, it doesn't mean there's not a perfect stallion out there, waiting for you."

"You...you really think so?" Twilight asked.

"Of course I do," Rarity said. "You are fabulous, Twilight. Don't you ever forget that!"

Twilight cracked a smile. "Thanks, Rarity," she said. "It's really sweet of you to say that."

"It's the truth," Rarity said. She continued in a business-like voice. "Now come on. We have to go."

"Go?" Twilight asked. "Go where?"

"To the spa, of course!" Rarity said. "What you need right now is an emergency spa date. I'll pay for it."

"Rarity, you don't have to do this," Twilight said.

"Tut tut," Rarity said. "It's the least I can do for my friend."

Twilight's eyes welled up with tears again. _This is what having friends is like?_ Twilight wondered. To her surprise, Rarity answered; she must have accidentally spoken out loud.

"Of course," Rarity said. "Friends stick by each other, no matter what happens."

* * *

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_I have a friendship report for you. I know that you didn't really send me here to study friendship, but I learned about it today, when my friend Rarity helped me._

_The thing is, I didn't know Rarity was my friend. I met her once or twice, because she's doing the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I thought she was okay, but I didn't really like her. She reminds me of some of the snobby ponies in Canterlot who talk with accents and wear crazy clothing. She's also really overbearing when it comes to fashion—when I first visited her store, she made me try on different outfits for over an hour!_

_But today, when I crying and all alone, Rarity came by to help me. Once she heard what happened with me and Prince Blueblood two years ago, she refused to leave me alone, until I was 100% better._

_And you know what? I am better now, thanks to her. It takes an especially good pony to stick by her friends, even when they're not really friends yet. Rarity is the Element of Loyalty for sure._

_—Twilight Sparkle_

_PS. Do you know what a "wub" is? I looked in the dictionary, but I didn't find it anywhere._


	7. Flying High

When Twilight arrived home from her unplanned spa trip with Rarity, it was three o'clock. Spike and Scootaloo were waiting for her at Golden Oaks Library.

"Oh," Twilight said. "Hello, you two."

"Where have you been all afternoon?" Spike asked.

"I was with my friend Rarity," Twilight said, not wanting to give Spike the details about why she needed a spa date.

"But you were gonna teach me how to fly!" Scootaloo said. "I've been waiting _forever!_"

"But...we didn't plan a time for our first lesson..." Twilight said, scratching her head. "Ah, no matter. I've got time to teach you now, if you want. Spike, can you watch the library?"

"I guess I can do that, sure," Spike said, shrugging his shoulders.

Twenty minutes later, Twilight and Scootaloo were standing on the second-story balcony, ready for the final test. Since Scootaloo's primary feathers hadn't quite grown in yet—in fact, their growth was astonishingly stunted, considering her age—Twilight decided to start with something simple: paper airplanes.

The two pegasi had spent the past fifteen minutes, throwing paper airplanes off of the balcony. Twilight used them to demonstrate basic aerophysic principles, all in preparation for this moment.

"Okay, so what's the proper gliding position again?" Twilight asked.

"Wings out, legs in, body straight," Scootaloo said, adjusting her body so she was in the right position.

"Perfect!" Twilight said. "And remember, your instincts will tell you to flap your wings to keep yourself in the air, but don't do it. Right now, you're just gliding, not flying."

"Uh huh! Uh huh!" Scootaloo said excitedly. "Can I go now? Can I?"

"Almost," Twilight said. "What's the proper landing procedure?"

"Uh...when I'm close to landing, I tilt my wings up so I can swoop," Scootaloo said.

"Exactly," Twilight said. "Once you've gotten the hang of gliding, we can work a bit on swooping. Now let's go!"

Scootaloo could barely contain her excitement, as she jumped to the rail at the edge of the balcony. She put her hooves on the railing, while Twilight bent down and picked Scootaloo up. Standing on her hind legs, Twilight held Scootaloo over her head.

Scootaloo could feel Twilight's legs shake, and she felt a dollop of worry. "Are you sure this will work?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," Twilight said. "My brother used to throw me off of ledges all the time, when I was learning how to fly. Now get in the position!"

"Right!" Scootaloo said. She spread out her wings and pulled in her legs.

Twilight was leaning back and forward, trying to determine what the best angle would be. "Remember, you have to—" she said.

The door behind Twilight slammed open. "Urgent message from the princess!" Spike shouted.

Startled, Twilight gave a small shriek and threw her forelegs forward, hurtling Scootaloo into the air. Twilight instantly turned around and shouted, "Spike! Don't interrupt my—Scootaloo!"

Twilight turned around again and looked at Scootaloo in the sky. "I...NO!" Twilight cried. She took to the air and silently berated herself for being the worst teacher ever. What kind of teacher accidentally throws their student off a balcony?

Scootaloo had no idea that Twilight threw her prematurely. She was too busy focusing on following the gliding techniques she had learned. To her astonishment, it worked perfectly, just Twilight had said it would.

"I...I'm doing it!" Scootaloo shouted. "Woo hoo!"

Resisting the urge to throw her legs out in triumph, Scootaloo slowly glided forward. _This is the greatest! The only way this could be better is if...OH YES!_

Scootaloo caught sight of her hero, hovering in the air about ten feet ahead of her.

"Rainbow Dash, look! I'm _gliding!_" Scootaloo cried, as she went past.

"Cool," Rainbow Dash said.

_Rainbow Dash thinks I'm COOL!_ Scootaloo thought. _I don't believe this! I—augh!_

Scootaloo lost her focus, having been distracted by Rainbow Dash. The ground was now much closer than she would have wanted. Scootaloo tried to remember how to land properly—something about angling your wings? She tilted her wings downward and found herself going into a dive, right at the ground.

Scootaloo shrieked in fear and closed her eyes seconds before she crashed face-first and—huh?

Scootaloo cracked open her eyes, when she realized that she wasn't dead. She looked up and left to see that she was wrapped tightly in the arms of a sky-blue pegasus.

"Don't worry, I got you," Rainbow Dash said. She landed on the ground and set Scootaloo down.

"You...you saved me!" Scootaloo said.

"Don't mention it," Rainbow Dash said. "Was that your first time flying?"

"Yeah..." Scootaloo admitted somewhat reluctantly.

"Thought so," Rainbow said. "I—"

Twilight Sparkle landed on the ground, between Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. She had not been too far behind, having flown after Scootaloo at top speed.

"Scootaloo!" Twilight said, picking up Scootaloo and giving her an anxious hug. "Oh my gosh, are you alright? I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"I'm fine!" Scootaloo said. "I glided, just like you taught me!"

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "When I threw you off the balcony, I didn't mean to—"

"You threw your sister off a balcony?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight blinked in confusion. "I'm not Scootaloo's sister," she said. "I'm her teacher."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash. "Sorry. You both have purple manes, so I guess I...heh heh. My bad."

"It's okay," Twilight said. She brushed aside her mane, which had been disturbed in her frantic flight. "I saw you catch Scootaloo before she crashed. Thank you."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo said. "You saved my life! You're the greatest!"

"Aw, hey, it's no big deal," Rainbow Dash said. She nudged Scootaloo with a friendly hoof. "You did pretty well for a first timer. Keep it up, and you'll be flying in no time."

Scootaloo squeed in pure delight.

"You know a lot about flying, don't you, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

"Heh, are you kidding?" Rainbow asked. "I _love_ flying! My dream is the join the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow sidled up next to Twilight, putting a wing casually over Twilight's back. "You're the pony who got tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala, right? I heard the Wonderbolts will be there...any chance you could put in an order for me?"

Twilight shook her head. "That makes you the fortieth pony to ask me for gala tickets," she said. "I don't know where you can get them. Mine were a gift."

"Awww, seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked, disappointed. She removed her wing from Twilight. "Oh, well. I guess I'll have to meet them at the Best Young Fliers Competition, then."

"You're entering that, huh?" Twilight asked.

"Of course!" Scootaloo said. "Rainbow Dash is the best flyer ever! She can do a Sonic Rainboom!"

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. "I remember seeing that, about twelve years ago!" she said. "That was _you?_"

Rainbow Dash chuckled and rubbed the side of her face. "Yeah, that was me," she said. "I was in Cloudsdale at the time."

"Well, since you're such an expert on flying, maybe you can help us with Scootaloo's flying lessons," Twilight said. "It'd be a lot easier for me to demonstrate what I'm talking about with an assistant."

_"Please please please?"_ Scootaloo pleaded

Rainbow Dash considered it, then shrugged. "Sure, why not?" she asked. "I got time to help out a new flyer."

_"Really?"_ Scootaloo asked.

"Would I lie to you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Now come on, let me show you how that landing is supposed to go."

Rainbow Dash flew up in the air a bit, then demonstrated the simple glide-to-swoop landing. "You turned your wings in the wrong direction," she said. "You want to turn them _away_ from the ground to slow down."

"The angle you tilt your wings at determines how quickly you slow down," Twilight said. "Most ponies don't realize that it's unnecessary to turn your wings at a full 90 degree angle, perpendicular to the ground. Rainbow, could you demonstrate flaring your wings for a landing?"

"Right," Rainbow said, taking to the air again.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the flying lessons came to a close, when Rainbow Dash had to leave. Before she left, she stayed to watch Scootaloo glide off of Sugarcube Corner. Scootaloo glided perfectly, while Twilight and Rainbow Dash glided next to her the whole time, offering words of encouragement.

"You're doing it!" Twilight said.

"You rock! Woo hoo!" Rainbow Dash said.

When she landed, Scootaloo wanted Twilight to fly her back to the roof of Sugarcube Corner, so she could try again. But since Rainbow had to leave, Twilight said that was enough learning for one day. They said goodbye to Rainbow Dash, then walked back to the library.

"Oh my gosh, that was so amazing! It was so much fun!" Scootaloo said, bouncing around like a maniac. "I _love_ gliding! And you and Rainbow Dash are the coolest ponies _ever!_ Thank you so, _so much_ for teaching me!"

"You're welcome," Twilight said. "Now calm down, Scootaloo. You don't want to hurt yourself."

"Oh," Scootaloo said. She stopped bouncing and started walking slowly. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Twilight?"

"Yes?" Twilight asked.

"You know how Rainbow Dash thought we were sisters?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," Twilight said, opening the door to the library. "That was a bit unexpected."

"Well, uh...I..." Scootaloo said, scratching the back of her head. "The thing is, I don't—"

"Hey, Twilight!" Spike said, jumping out of a chair. "I was wondering when you'd come back. The letter from Princess Celestia is on the table there."

"Thanks, Spike," Twilight said. "Now what were you going to say, Scootaloo?"

"Ah, it was nothing important!" Scootaloo said, grabbing her helmet and scooter from off of the wall. "I gotta go home now. Later!"

"Goodbye, Scootaloo!" Twilight said. "You did well today!"

"Bye!" Scootaloo said. "Thanks, Twilight! You're the best!"

* * *

_My dear Twilight Sparkle,_

_I would like to thank you for all the hard work you've done. You haven't been in Ponyville for a week yet, and you've already found a third of the ponies you need. I am also very glad that you have found a true friend in Rarity, Pinkie Pie and the others. As you know, true friends can sometimes be hard to come by._

_That said, I am a little concerned that your suggested Element of Honesty is a little filly. I agree that fillies can be more honest than adults, but I cannot condone sending a filly to fight Nightmare Moon. This is a potentially dangerous situation; even if you were one of the Elements, I would be worried for your safety. Unless you get permission from Scootaloo's parents, I cannot allow her to go on this mission._

_Spike says there was a minor uproar when I sent you the tickets to the gala, as everypony in the area immediately ran over each other in a hurry to see them. I would like to offer my apologies; I had no idea that you were in a roomful of ponies at the time. I have already sent an apology letter to the stallion who got injured, and I offered him a free ticket to the gala in compensation. If you need any more tickets—which I'm sure ponies have been asking you for—let me know. At the very least, I'm sure I can spare tickets for the six Elements of Harmony._

_In your last letter, you asked what our next step is. Once you find the Elements of Harmony, I want you to gather them together and tell them about Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon. Explain to them why they are the only ones who can save Equestria. Since they are your friends, or at least, friendly acquaintances, I'm sure they will listen to you._

_The physical Elements of Harmony are located inside protective orbs, in the throne room of the Ancient Castle of the Pony Sisters. As you may know, this is the castle which Luna and I used before Canterlot was established as the capital of Equestria. The castle is currently located inside the Everfree Forest._

_As a test, I would like the Elements of Harmony to go collect these orbs. If they are truly meant to wield the elements, this task shall be no challenge at all. But just in case, I want you to go with them. I will also send your brother, Shining Armor, to help with this mission. He has been asking me about you, ever since I sent you to Ponyville. Perhaps you should send him a letter?_

_Your Princess and Friend,  
Celestia, Raiser of the Sun and Moon_

* * *

Most ponies think that Scootaloo's favorite possession is her scooter. That is wrong. Scootaloo's most important possession is a photograph that she keeps on the desk near her bed.

This particular photograph was taken seven minutes after Scootaloo's birth. It featured Scootaloo, in the arms of her exhausted-looking mother. By the looks of it, the mother was no more than sixteen years old. On the back of the photograph was a hoof-written note:

_Scootaloo,_

_I will always love you, no matter what. When it's safe, I will come back for you._

_-Mom_

Less than a week after her birth, Scootaloo was left in a basket, outside of a fire station. The photograph was the only thing she had to remember her parents by. Before going to bed that night, Scootaloo talked to the picture of her mother.

"And then _Rainbow Dash_ helped us! It was the best day ever!" Scootaloo said enthusiastically. "I told you about her, right? She's the coolest and most awesome pegasus _ever!_ Twilight isn't exactly what you would call _awesome_, but I still like her. She's really nice! She even invited me to her party yesterday!

"You know what the craziest thing is? When Rainbow Dash first came by, she thought Twilight and I were sisters! At first I thought it was kind of funny, but then I thought...well...it'd be kind of nice, you know? I'd love it if Rainbow Dash or Twilight could be like my big sister.

"But don't worry! Even if get _a hundred_ big sisters, I still won't forget about you, Mom."

Scootaloo smiled at the picture of her and her mother for a moment, before repeating the words she had memorized. "I will always love you, Mom. No matter what."

* * *

The next day was Monday, which meant it was the start of another school week. Twilight wanted to speak with Diamond Tiara and Cheerilee about the possibility of them being Elements of Harmony, so she went with Spike to the elementary school.

The playground at the school was abuzz with talk. It seemed that Silver Spoon got her cutie mark over the weekend, and most of the children were gathering around to see it and hear the story of how it appeared. In reality, her spoon-shaped cutie mark had appeared while she was eating a bowl of cereal, but Silver Spoon said that it appeared while she was singing the _Mary Trottins _song, "A Spoonful of Sugar".

The children who weren't listening to Silver Spoon were listening to Scootaloo talk about her flying lessons. Twilight was close enough to hear this conversation. "I must have glided over a hundred feet!" Scootaloo said. "Rainbow Dash said I was the most talented first timer she had ever seen!"

"Hmmph, I doubt _that_," Diamond Tiara said. Diamond was in a particularly foul mood that day. "If you can fly, why don't you prove it?"

"Weren't you listening?" Scootaloo asked. "I only learned how to glide!"

"That's not flying; that's falling slowly," Diamond Tiara said.

"It's still pretty impressive," Featherweight said.

"I'll believe it when I see it!" Diamond Tiara said. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is and _fly_ for us, you little chicken?"

Hearing this, Twilight decided to step in on Scootaloo's behalf. "Don't call Scootaloo names," Twilight said. "She's telling the truth about learning how to glide yesterday."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo said. "Help me show them, Twilight!"

"Okay," Twilight agreed. Twilight picked up Scootaloo and flew about eight feet in the air. Hovering in place, she held Scootaloo over her head and gently threw Scootaloo forward. Scootaloo glided perfectly, to the other side of the playground.

All the children ran along underneath Scootaloo, shouting excitedly. That is, all the children except Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon followed after Scootaloo.

"She actually did it," Silver Spoon said, sounding impressed.

"Yeah, well, she's still an orphan," Diamond Tiara said dismissively. Twilight, hovering overhead, gasped in surprise. "I bet that's why she shows off so much. She just wants attention, when _you_ deserve attention for getting your cutie mark!"

Silver Spoon put an arm on her friend's shoulder. "Di, you don't have to pretend," she said. "I can tell you're upset with me."

"Yeah, well...I thought we were going to get our cutie marks together!" Diamond Tiara said. "Now you're the coolest girl in school, and I'm still a blank flank. It's...it's not fair!"

The two children walked away, Silver Spoon assuring Diamond Tiara that they would still be best friends, cutie marks or not. Twilight landed softly on the ground, her mind still reeling from the news that Scootaloo was an orphan. Twilight was so busy trying to recall everything she knew about Scootaloo, she didn't even notice when Cheerilee walked up to her.

"Did I just see you throw one of my students across the yard?" Cheerilee asked.

"Huh? Oh!" Twilight said, jumping out of her thoughts. "Uh, it's not what it looked like! Scootaloo is _my_ student, too. I gave her a flying lesson yesterday."

"Hmmm..." Cheerilee said skeptically.

"I'm sorry," Twilight apologized. "She just wanted to show everypony what she learned about flying. I promise I won't throw her around again."

"That's good to know," Cheerilee said. "And it looks like Scootaloo is perfectly safe. You must be a good teacher."

"Not as good as _you_ are," Twilight countered. "I read the syllabus you sent home with Spike. I'm impressed that you can come up with a viable teaching plan, with so many students of different ages."

"Apart from Apple Bloom and Twist, all the students are the same age, so it's not much of a problem," Cheerilee said. "In any case, I should probably round up the students. It's almost 8:00."

"One more question first," Twilight said. "Which student is Diamond Tiara?"

"Diamond Tiara is the pink filly with the light purple mane," Cheerilee said, pointing her out.

_That mean girl is Diamond Tiara?_ Twilight wondered. "I heard she's the class clown, is that true?"

"She _does_ talk out of turn more often than I'd like," Cheerilee said. "But I wouldn't call her a clown. She doesn't tell many jokes."

"I see," Twilight said. "Thank you very much for your time, Miss Cheerilee."

As Cheerilee rang the school bell to get all the students to line up, Twilight flew back to the library. As she flew, she wondered what would now happen to her list of the Elements of Harmony Bearers. Two of the elements would have to change.

1. Element of Honesty—Scootaloo (confirmed)  
2. Element of Laughter—Diamond Tiara, Pinkie Pie

_I think I'll take Diamond Tiara off the list, which leaves Pinkie Pie as the Element of Laughter by default,_ Twilight thought._ I guess that works. She loves entertaining ponies and making them smile._

_But what am I going to do about Scootaloo? I can't get permission from her parents, if she's an orphan. But nopony else was honest with me at my party...oh...maybe Princess Celestia will know what I should do?_


	8. Picking a Good Apple

Big Macintosh's hooves had been hurting him lately, because his horseshoes were old and needed to be replaced. But when his legs were accidentally trampled at Twilight Sparkle's party recently, the pain had become unbearable. A quick visit to the doctor's resulted in large bandages and orders to keep off his right foreleg for at least a week.

Now Big Macintosh, his leg in a sling, stood with his sister Applejack. The two of them were surveying the west apple orchard. Applebuck season wouldn't be for at least a month yet, but the grove of green Granny Smith apples was ready for harvesting.

"Boy howdy!" Applejack said. "I got my work cut out for me. That there is the biggest crop o' Granny Smiths I ever laid eyes on.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said. "Too big for you to handle on your own."

"Come on, big brother!" Applejack said. "You need to rest up and get yourself better. I haven't met an apple orchard yet that I can't handle. I'll take a bite out of this job by day's end."

Big Macintosh was skeptical. "Biting off more than you can chew is just what I'm afraid of," he said.

Applejack took offense at that statement. "Are you sayin' my mouth is makin' promises my legs can't keep?" she demanded.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh drawled.

"Why of all the..." Applejack said. "This is your sister Applejack, remember? The loyalest of friends and the most dependable of ponies?

Big Macintosh wasn't fazed by his sister getting up in his face. "But still only one pony, and one pony plus hundreds o' apples just doesn't add up to—" he said.

"Don't you use your fancy mathematics to muddle the issue!" Applejack said. "I said I could handle this harvest and I'm gonna prove it to you. I'm gonna get every last apple out of those trees all by myself."

Applejack took a quick glance at the orchard. Now that she looked at it, there were a _lot_ of Granny Smith apples to get. She gulped nervously.

* * *

Twilight stopped by Sugarcube Corner on her way back home from dropping Spike off at school. It was the first time Twilight had been inside the bakery, and she was a little overwhelmed by all the candy and sugar everywhere. Even the walls and tables appeared to be made out of delicious candy. Twilight couldn't help herself from licking one of the peppermint pillars.

"Augh!" Twilight screamed. "Gross!"

The pillar was definitely _not_ made out of peppermint. It was made out of wood, that was painted like peppermint. Twilight wiped her tongue with her hooves, hoping to get the nasty taste out of her mouth.

"Hello?" a voice called. "Can I help you?"

Twilight stepped away from the pillar to see a blue Earth pony, standing behind the counter. Judging from her swirly pink mane, Twilight decided she was probably Pinkie's mother. Twilight walked up to her.

"Hi, I'm Twilight Sparkle," she said. "I just moved into the library down the street."

"Welcome!" the older mare said. "You're the pony who ordered a cake for the Summer Sun Celebration, right?"

"That's me," Twilight said. "But actually, I came by to see Pinkie Pie."

"She's in the back, making cupcakes with Applejack," the mare said, gesturing towards a doorway leading to the kitchen. "They won't be done for a while."

"Oh," Twilight said. "Well, in that case...I guess we _can_ talk about the cake for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Great!" the mare said. "I have a photo album of the different kinds of cakes we've made in the past. Let me get it for you, and you can pick one out."

By the time Twilight and Mrs. Cake had settled on a cake design—a simplistic cake with fancy decorated edges—Pinkie Pie and Applejack were done with baking. Pinkie was bouncing around like usual, while Applejack looked like she was sleepwalking.

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said. "We just made cupcakes!"

"Uh...a couple of cakes..." Applejack said, her eyelids closing. "Sounds good to me..."

"Are you okay, Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"Of course I'm Applejack!" Applejack said sleepily. "Why would you think anything different?"

"Hmmm..." Twilight said. Since Twilight had worked as a university librarian, she was able to instantly recognize that Applejack was sleep-deprived. She looked just like a student, at the end of an all-night study session. "Get some sleep, okay?" Twilight recommended.

"Yes, Granny Smith..." Applejack muttered. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. "The Granny Smiths! I ain't even a third of the way through them yet! I gotta get goin'!"

Applejack ran out the door as fast as she could, without so much as a _How-do-you-do _as a goodbye. Before Twilight could react to this, Pinkie Pie wrapped an arm around her.

"Twilight! My new best friend neighbor buddy!" Pinkie Pie said. "You came to see me!"

"Hi, Pinkie," Twilight said, trying to get out of the hug. "I came by to ask you if—"

"Yes, of _course_ I'll go to the Grand Galloping Gala with you!" Pinkie said. "I love parties, and the Grand Galloping Gala is the most fun, superrific party of the year! I can't wait!"

"No, I—I don't have a ticket to the party for you," Twilight said. "I wanted to ask—"

"Somepony else?" Pinkie Pie asked. A huge frown appeared on her face. "Why would you ask somepony else? That's not—_Oh!_ I get it now! You want to take somepony to the Gala on a date! Lucky for you, I know all the stallions in town—I can _totally_ set you up!"

"Pinkie!" Twilight said. She finally managed to get out of Pinkie's vise-like hug, so she could turn and face Pinkie. "You keep interrupting me! I'm not here to talk about the Gala!"

"Whoops! Sorry!" Pinkie Pie said. "What did you want to talk about?"

_Here goes nothing..._ Twilight thought. "Do you like...laughter?"

"Hmmm..." Pinkie Pie said. "I'm not sure! When I tell silly jokes, it's not because I want to make _myself_ laugh. It's because I want other ponies to laugh!"

"But you like bringing joy and laughter everywhere, right?" Twilight said.

"Uh...kind of?" Pinkie Pie said. She turned and showed off her cutie mark to Twilight. "See, my special talent is parties! I like making things fun for everypony, so they're _happy!_ And lots of laughter is a sign of good party!"

"Oh...I thought your cutie mark meant you're a balloonist," Twilight said.

Pinkie burst into giggles. "Now _you're_ the one being silly!" she said. "Anyway, my answer is yes. YES! Of _course_ I'll do stand-up comedy at the Summer Sun Celebration!"

Twilight stared blankly at Pinkie Pie for a moment. "...That's not what I was getting at," she said.

"You sure? I have some good jokes!" Pinkie said. "How many pegasuses does it take to screw in a lightbub?"

"It's _pegasi_, not _pega_—" Twilight said.

"Ten!" Pinkie Pie said. "One to screw in the lightbulb, and nine to—"

"I have to get going," Twilight said. "See you later, Pinkie Pie."

"BYE!" Pinkie Pie said. "Come back in an hour, when the cupcakes I just made will be done baking! I'll give you a free sample!"

* * *

Twilight went back to the Golden Oaks Library, ready to start her busy day full of librarian business. As she soon found out, there _was_ no librarian business that day. The ponies in town were so used to the library only being open two days a week that they didn't visit regularly. The only thing close to official business was a letter from Twilight's previous boss, about her Interlibrary Loan request.

_Dear Twilight,_

_The Canterlot University Library has rejected your request to loan you one of our copies of The Encyclopedia of Cutie Marks. As you should already know, it is a reference book, and therefore it cannot be removed from the library._

_-Wren Calls_

"Seriously?" Twilight asked. "You've got three copies of that book! I just need to look at one for ten minutes, you miserable old crow! Grrrrr!"

Twilight sent a letter to her brother, asking him if he could look up the mysterious six-pointed star symbol in the cutie mark encyclopedia. Twilight was finishing a letter to Princess Celestia—informing her of Scootaloo's situation and about Pinkie Pie being the Element of Laughter—when there was a scratching sound from the front door.

"Hmmm?" Twilight asked.

A second scratching noise came, followed by a soft moan. Wondering if there was a mouse outside, Twilight went to the door and opened it. To her surprise, the soft noises had come from a nervous-looking yellow pegasus.

"Um...hello..." the pegasus said.

"Fluttershy, right?" Twilight said. "We met at the spa."

Fluttershy nodded. "And you're Twilight Spackle, the new librarian."

"Sparkle, actually," Twilight said.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Fluttershy said quickly. She lowered her head. "I came by to tell you that...I...um..."

"There's no need to be nervous," Twilight said. "Please, come inside."

"Oh, no, I can't impose," Fluttershy said. "I just wanted to tell you that...um...the bird choir is going to rehearse today...and you're invited...if that's okay with you."

It took a moment for Twilight to figure out what Fluttershy meant. "Oh, that's right," Twilight said. "I still have to give them permission to perform at the Summer Sun Celebration."

"And they've been working _really _hard lately..." Fluttershy said. "So please won't you let them sing? I'm sure it will be nice!"

"I think I'll make a decision after hearing them practice," Twilight said. "Thanks for inviting me, Fluttershy."

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Fluttershy said, pawing the ground. "The birds asked me to..."

"It was still very _kind_ of you to help out your animal friends," Twilight said, remembering that somepony suggested Fluttershy as the kindest pony in town. "Do you do kind things often?"

"Um...I guess..." Fluttershy said. "To be honest...I just wanted to help out my animals, that's all."

"Do you like animals?" Twilight asked. She didn't know it, but those were the magic words to break the dam of Fluttershy's silence.

"I _love_ animals," Fluttershy said enthusiastically. "I have over twenty of them that live with me at my cottage! My favorite is Angel Bunny. He's so cute and adorable!"

"We have a few books here about animals," Twilight said. "Would you like to see them?"

"Yes!" Fluttershy said. "I mean, if that's okay. I don't have a library card or anything..."

* * *

Two hours later, Twilight Sparkle was in the process of leaving Fluttershy's cottage. "Thanks again for the books!" Fluttershy called. "And for agreeing to let my birds sing!"

"You're welcome," Twilight called back, as she took to the skies. "Thanks for the tea!"

Twilight smiled as she flew away. Fluttershy was a very nice pony, once you got past her shyness. Unfortunately for Twilight, Cheerilee was also a nice pony. Twilight wasn't sure how to determine which of the two ponies was kinder. Maybe they could have a kindness competition?

Twilight shook her head. She could worry about the Element of Kindness later. Right now, she wanted to focus on the Element of Generosity. She still hadn't spoken very much with the three generous Earth ponies yet. Resolving to change that situation, Twilight flew to the food market and landed near the farmer's section.

"Twilight! Hi!" a voice called. "Want some carrots?"

"Hi, Carrot Top," Twilight said, walking to her booth. "Nice to see you again."

"I plucked these carrots this morning!" Carrot Top said. "The asparagus is a day old, so it's a little cheaper."

"Sorry, but I don't have anything to carry food in right now," Twilight said. "I actually came by to ask about the food for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Yes, about that," Carrot Top said. "I talked it over with Applejack and...well, we can't cater that event for free. After all, everypony in town will be there to see Princess Celestia, and that's a _lot_ of food for us to provide."

"I understand," Twilight said. "But our budget is kind of small, I'm afraid. How much will it cost?"

"Tell you what," Carrot Top said. "If you get me a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, I'll give you a huge discount."

"You want to go to the Gala, too?" Twilight asked.

"I've got it all planned out," Carrot Top said. "I'll wear my fanciest dress and get the attention of some of the wealthy businessponies. They can loan me enough money to buy out Old Man Mareson's field. My business will double overnight!"

"That's...quite a plan," Twilight said. "But what about Applejack? Do I have to get her a ticket, too?"

"I doubt _she_ wants to go to the Gala," Carrot Top said, gesturing towards the Sweet Apple Acres stand. "I mean, look at her. She doesn't care about business. She can barely stay awake!"

Twilight looked thoughtfully at Applejack, remembering her encounter with the sleepy farmer pony from earlier that morning. "She _does_ look dead on her hooves," Twilight commented. "I think I should see what's wrong."

"Fine by me," Carrot Top shrugged. "Just let me know about the Gala, okay? Even if I can't go, I still want to meet with the Canterlot businessponies."

Twilight nodded, then walked over to Applejack. As Twilight approached, she could hear Applejack muttering at the passers-by. "Apples...ap...nap...nappy time..." Applejack said.

"Applejack, are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"Huh?" Applejack asked. She yawned. "I'm fine. I was just up at three this morning, getting apples ready today."

"Three o'clock in the morning?" Twilight gasped. "No wonder you look so tired!"

"Yeah, well," Applejack said, chuckling slightly. "With Big Mac's injury, I had to pull a double shift." She yawned again. "Or maybe it was a triple shift? I don't rightly remember..."

"Please tell me you're going to sleep once you're finished selling apples here," Twilight said.

"Can't," Applejack said. "I'm only about halfway through with the Granny Smith field. I gotta get 'em all picked and packaged and...ugh...anyway, you gonna buy something?"

"Actually, I came to ask if you'd like a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala," Twilight said.

Applejack seemed to come to life at that statement. "Sure would!" she said. "I'd love to set up my apple stand at that Gala! Do you know how much money I could make offa those rich ponies?"

"Carrot Top thinks the Gala could help her business, too," Twilight commented.

"Shucks, it ain't about business," Applejack said. "I need the money to help my family. Applebloom needs new clothes 'cause she's gettin' bigger again, Big Macintosh needs a new plow because the old one hurts his back, and Granny Smith needs a hip replacement."

"That's really generous of you to think of them," Twilight said. "But don't _you_ need anything?"

"Sure I do," Applejack said. "But helping out my family is more important than helping myself. Only a real selfish person would ignore her family, you know?"

Twilight clapped her two front hooves together in delight. That confirmed it! Applejack was the Element of Generosity! Bon Bon wanted to go to the Gala to learn new food recipes, Carrot Top wanted to go so she could help her business, but Applejack wanted to go in order to help other ponies. If that wasn't a generous motive, Twilight didn't know what was.

"Thanks, Applejack!" Twilight said. "I'll pay you back for this, okay? Bye!"

"What?" Applejack asked as Twilight flew off. She scratched her head, then decided it couldn't be that important. Resting her chin on the table in front of her, Applejack softly called, "Apples! Get your apples here!"

* * *

When the exhausted Applejack returned home to Sweet Apple Acres for a late lunch, she found her brother and three pegasi waiting for her.

"Surprise!" they all shouted.

"Huh?" Applejack asked. She snapped her head up to look at them, accidentally knocking off her hat in the process.

"We picked all of your apples for you!" Twilight Sparkle said.

"Yeah, it turns out you can knock apples off a tree when you fly real close to them," Rainbow Dash said.

"And my animal friends helped!" Fluttershy said.

"Eeeyup!" Big Macintosh said.

Applejack ran past them to look at the western grove. Sure enough, all the Granny Smith trees were bare, with full apple barrels underneath them. Applejack turned back to look at her smiling friends. "I...I don't understand!" she said. "Y'all stopped by to help harvest the apples?"

"It was the right thing to do," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, you're our friend," Rainbow Dash said.

"Besides, I feel kind of responsible for this mess, because Big Macintosh got hurt at my party," Twilight said. "I was going to get all the apples by myself, but when I told the girls, they insisted on coming along. Pinkie wanted to come too, but she got food poisoning somehow."

Big Mac shrugged. "I told 'em to leave, but they wouldn't take no for an answer," he said.

Tears formed in Applejack's eyes, although later she would say they were tears of exhaustion. "Y'all are the best...the nicest...I..."

"Yes?" Twilight asked.

"THANK YOU!" Applejack shouted. She jumped up and swept up the three girls in a big group hug. Big Macintosh joined in on the hug, from the other side. "I love you all more than anything! Well, one thing."

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash said, pretending to be offended. "What do you love more than us?"

"Sleep!" Applejack said. "I'm goin' to bed now!"

The five ponies all laughed at that.


	9. A Shining Example

Princess Celestia was going through paperwork in her office, when Shining Armor entered the room. "Princess Celestia!" he said. "I request permission to speak!"

"What is it?" Celestia asked, looking up from her desk.

"I have retrieved the files that you requested, Your Highness!" Shining said, saluting mightily.

Princess Celestia sighed. "Shining Armor, I've had dinner at your family's house three times," she said. "You don't have to be so formal with me."

Shining Armor visibly relaxed. "Sorry, Princess," he said. He used his magic to float the folder labeled _Prince Blueblood _over to Celestia's desk. "Why'd you ask for that scumbag's file, anyway?"

"Let's say...personal reasons," Princess Celestia said. "I want to see if he's broken any laws recently."

"He broke my little sister's heart," Shining Armor muttered angrily. "Isn't that enough?"

There was bad blood between Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood; two years previously, they had a rather public confrontation over what he did to Twilight. After Blueblood made a few nasty comments about Twilight Sparkle's kissing abilities, Shining Armor completely lost his head and tried to assault the prince. Blueblood's personal guards intercepted the attack and beat Shining Armor to a pulp before tossing him in jail.

Celestia skimmed through the folder, which contained all of the Royal Guard's files on the blonde unicorn prince. Unfortunately for Celestia, no major crimes were detailed, except, of course, Blueblood's failed attempt to blackmail one of his teachers at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

"Hmmm..." Princess Celestia said, flipping through the pages. "It looks like he's been staying out of trouble."

"No, he's been getting into trouble," Shining Armor said. "He just hasn't been caught."

Celestia moved the folder aside, slightly disappointed that she hadn't found anything interesting. "Well, let's forget Blueblood for the moment," she said. "I asked you to come here, because I have a new assignment that I think would be perfect for you."

"A new assign—what is it?" Shining asked.

"It's a guard mission, in Ponyville," Princess Celestia said. "I need you to help protect a team of five ponies, who will be travelling through the Everfree Forest."

"Ponyville..." Shining Armor's eyes gleamed. "Isn't that where Twilight is?"

"It is," Princess Celestia said. "You will be working side-by-side with your sister for this mission. I am confident that you two will do a wonderful job together."

"We will, Your Highness!" Shining Armor said, saluting. "What's the purpose of this mission?"

"Hmmm..." Celestia said, not entirely sure where to begin. "Tell me, Shining Armor. What do you know about Princess Luna?"

"Princess...Luna?" Shining Armor asked. The confusion on his face quickly turned to fear. "Oh no. _Please_ don't tell me that Blueblood has a fiancée."

Celestia grimaced. "Thankfully not," she said. "Princess Luna is my sister. The purpose of the mission to help save her life."

* * *

When Twilight picked Spike up from school that day, she chatted a bit with Cheerilee. The schoolteacher was as nice as ever, making it impossible for Twilight to eliminate her as a possible candidate for the Element of Kindness. Twilight loudly complained about this on the way home, much to Spike's confusion.

"I don't understand," Spike said. "Why does one pony have to be kinder than the other? Can't they be equally nice?"

"That's the problem!" Twilight said. "Cheerilee and Fluttershy are both so nice and kind! I don't know how to pick between them!"

"I still don't get why you need a kind pony here," Spike said. "You really think you can kill Nightmare Moon with kindness?"

"We're not going to _kill_ Nightmare Moon," Twilight said. "We're going to strip away the evil so Princess Luna is safe again."

"Either way, I think I'll stay at home for this mission," Spike said. "I've seen pictures of Nightmare Moon. She gives me the creeps."

"She _is_ kind of scary, but—" Twilight started, then stopped suddenly. "That's _it!_ Nightmare Moon is scary!"

"Um, _what?_"

"Fluttershy might be kind, but she's too much of a scaredy pony to fight Nightmare Moon," Twilight said. "That makes Cheerilee the Element of Kindness by default!"

"Are you sure?" Spike asked. "I'm not sure it works like that."

"Of course I'm sure!" Twilight said. "Only the Element of Kindness would be kind enough to volunteer for this mission, after all! That means we're almost done! Yesss!"

* * *

After Spike sent Twilight's various letters—he complained that she was treating him like her personal mail service—she helped him with his homework. Eventually, they got a response from Princess Celestia, which pointed out the fact that even if Scootaloo didn't have parents, she had an official guardian.

That was how Twilight found herself at the Ponyville Orphanage, trying to convince the director to let Scootaloo join the mission.

"I'm not sure I can allow Scootaloo to go into the Everfree Forest alone," the director said.

"But she _won't_ be alone, sir," Twilight said. "She'll be going with six adults, one of whom is a member of the Royal Guard. You can't be much safer than that."

"Hmmm..." the director said. "And _why_ do you want to bring her along on this expedition again?"

"We're getting artifacts, belonging to Nightmare Moon," Twilight said. "We can't do it without Scootaloo's help."

"You didn't answer my question," the director said. "Why is _she_ so important to an archaeological expedition? She's just a filly!"

Twilight sighed. She was hoping to avoid this, but...

"Nightmare Moon had a daughter named Swift Darkness," Twilight lied, adapting a plotline from Daring Do and the Temple of Doom. "Most ponies don't know about her, because she died at the age of six. Legend says she was an orange pegasus filly, just like Scootaloo."

"I see," the director said.

"The doors of the castle are locked with strong alicorn magic," Twilight said. "Even Princess Celestia can't break the enchantment. The only thing we have to go on is the writing on the doors, which says only Nightmare Moon or Swift Darkness can open them."

"And you think you can trick the doors into thinking Scootaloo is really Swift Darkness?" the director asked, leaning forward in interest.

"That's the plan," Twilight said. "We'll bring her to the doors, and she'll tell them to open. If it works, it'll be the find of the century. If it doesn't work, we'll bring her right back here."

"I see..." the director said. "Well...this all sounds rather out there to me, but I have to admit you've captured my interest. Plus, it seems that there is very little chance of Scootaloo being hurt."

"We only need her to help open the doors," Twilight said. "That's all. There's no danger whatsoever."

"Very well," the director said. "I will allow it."

"Thank you!" Twilight said. "You won't regret it!"

When leaving the orphanage, Twilight couldn't help but bounce around a little bit. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!" Twilight said to herself.

"Twilight?" a small voice asked. Twilight turned to see Scootaloo, peeking out through one of the doors.

_No! _Twilight thought. She immediately came to a halt. "Oh, um...hi, Scootaloo..."

"What are you doing here?" Scootaloo asked.

"I, um...I had to see...uh..." Twilight stammered.

Scootaloo lowered her head. "You know the truth," she said sadly. "I'm an orphan."

"Yeah," Twilight said.

A heavy pause followed. Twilight tried to think of something nice and comforting to say, but all she could think about was how awkward the situation was. It wasn't as awkward as the time Princess Celestia had talked to Twilight about the birds and the bees, but it was definitely a close second.

Scootaloo looked up at Twilight. Her pupils were enlarged, and her eyes seemed to waver. "I know what that means," she said. "You can't give me flying lessons anymore."

Twilight was taken aback. That was _not_ the reaction she was expecting. "What?" Twilight asked. "Why would you—?"

"I'm sorry I tricked you," Scootaloo said. "I just wanted to learn how to fly so badly..."

Twilight knelt down, to get closer to Scootaloo. "What are you talking about?" Twilight asked. "I'm not cancelling our flying lessons. Why would you think that?"

"'Cause it's against the rules," Scootaloo said. She sniffed loudly.

"What rules?" Twilight asked. "There's no rule that says I can't teach you."

"But there is!" Scootaloo insisted. "Today at school, Diamond Tiara told me that orphans can't— "

"Diamond Tiara, that mean filly?" Twilight asked. "I don't care what she says. _You're _the one I care about."

"You—you mean that?" Scootaloo asked, unbelievingly. "I mean, you don't just feel sorry for me?"

Twilight bit her lip, as her brain was suddenly flooded with memories of a conversation from fourteen years ago, when a different pegasus child had been plagued with loneliness.

_"...I don't have any friends, besides my brother," Twilight said sadly. "And I was just thinking...maybe if I was a unicorn, I could have friends."_

_"I see," Princess Celestia said. She thought for a moment. "Well, I can't make you a unicorn, Twilight, but I can be your friend. Would you like that?"_

_"Yeah!" Twilight said, jumping up happily. "You can be my BPF! Big Princess Friend!"_

"Scootaloo..." Twilight said seriously. "Listen to me. No matter what anypony says, you are a very special little girl. We haven't known each other very long, but I'm proud to be your teacher...and your friend."

Scootaloo jumped up and gave Twilight a hug. "I love you, too, Twilight!" she said.

_I didn't go that far!_ Twilight thought, but she returned the hug anyway. When they broke apart, Twilight couldn't help but smile at the huge grin on Scootaloo's face.

"Now, no more worrying that I won't be your teacher anymore, okay?" Twilight said. "In fact, why don't we have our next flying lesson after school tomorrow? We can work more on proper swooping techniques."

"Okay!" Scootaloo said.

* * *

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_I cleared things up with the director of the Ponyville Orphanage. He agreed to let Scootaloo help as the Element of Honesty._

_Scootaloo is a...very interesting girl. I'm not sure how to feel about her. Yesterday, I thought she was your average, hyper filly. But today at the orphanage, I saw another side of her. She was sad and lonely, and scared that I would abandon her._

_Seeing her like that was a startling experience. It reminded me of...well, me. When I first met you, I was a lonely pegasus child who didn't quite fit in at her unicorn school. But you didn't care about that. You became my friend anyway._

_I want to say thank you. It meant a lot to me. I hope I can be as good of a friend to Scootaloo as you were to me._

_Your friend,  
Twilight Sparkle_

* * *

The next day, six ponies came to visit Ponyville. One of them wasn't a pony at all, actually. She was a griffon friend of Rainbow Dash who was, quite frankly, not very polite. Gilda's quick temper soon made her the enemy of quite a few ponies in town.

One pony who didn't get a chance to meet Gilda was Rarity. Rarity was preoccupied with her work that day, as she was finishing with an order from Reignston. The five dresses were all packed and ready to go, and Rarity was loading them onto the luggage compartment of the train which just arrived.

She was getting a luggage slip from the train conductor, when the speaker in the train station came to life.

"Will the white unicorn please come to the ticket office?" a voice said. "White unicorn, report to the ticket office."

"Odd," Rarity said. "I didn't think anypony knew I'm here."

She wrapped up her business with the package containing the dresses, then trotted over to the ticket office. She stopped short, when she saw the stallion waiting for her at the ticket office. He was the muscular type, with adorable big blue eyes.

"Oh, my," Rarity said to herself. It wasn't every day a handsome stallion requested to speak with her. She spent a few seconds taking him in, then stepped forward. "Excuse me? Sir?" she asked. "Did you call for me?"

"Huh?" the stallion asked, seeming surprised. "What do you mean?"

Rarity's smile fell slightly. "The ticket counter just called for me. The white unicorn?" she said.

"Oh," the stallion said. He smiled and chuckled slightly. "No, that was me. _I'm_ the white unicorn they wanted to see."

Rarity flushed with embarrassment. _Stupid! Stupid! _"Oh," she said. "I...I'm sorry for bothering you, then."

"Don't worry about it," the stallion said. "I'm Shining Armor. What's your name?"

"Rarity," Rarity said. She shook Shining Armor's hoof, then fluttered her long eyelashes at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Shining Armor said. He pushed back his blue hair, in an effort to look more professional. "Do you know where I could get a map of Ponyville? I was hoping I could get one here at the ticket counter, but they're all out."

"Is this your first time in Ponyville?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, I just came in from Canterlot," Shining Armor said.

"Canterlot! One of my best friends is from there!" Rarity said. She smiled, then gasped in delight. "_Idea! _I can give you a tour of Ponyville!"

"A tour?" Shining asked.

"I've lived here all my life, Mr. Armor," Rarity said. "I can show you all the best places in town. We could make a morning of it!"

"Please, call me Shining," Shining Armor said. "And that sounds like a great idea! I'd love to spend the morning with you."

Rarity smiled.

* * *

Twilight hummed a little song to herself, as she left Bale's Burger Barn. _That was a good lunch, _she decided. _Time to go back home._

_...Home?_

Twilight's tendency to overanalyze everything kicked in. She just thought of Ponyville as home. Why? Wasn't her home in Canterlot?

Well...home is where the heart is, and Ponyville was full of heart. Everypony here was so open and nice...Twilight had made more friends here, in six days, than she had made in the past six _years_ in Canterlot.

_Ponyville is a home to me!_ Twilight realized. _I hope Princess Celestia will let me stay here once the Summer Sun Celebration is over. I don't want to move back to Unicorn City!_

Twilight smiled widely and starting humming louder. She was thinking about sending a message to her parents, when a crying yellow blur ran through the street past her.

_Was that Fluttershy?_ Twilight wondered. _What's wrong with her?_

Twilight flew up in the air a few feet, and she followed after Fluttershy for a block or two. Suddenly, Twilight saw something even more startling than a crying friend. She saw Rarity and her brother, eating at a table outside one of the town's restaurants.

_"Shining Armor?"_ Twilight gasped.

Twilight immediately dove and came to a halt at their table. Not caring about manners, Twilight screeched, "What are you _doing _here?"

"Hi, Twilight," Shining Armor said. "What's wrong?"

"What's _wrong?_" Twilight asked, slamming a hoof on the table. "Why are you two _having lunch together?"_

Rarity's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Shining, dear, how does Twilight know you?" she asked in a dangerous voice.

"Well, I came here to Ponyville so I could see her," Shining Armor admitted.

Rarity used her magic to throw her drink into Shining's face. "You _cad!_" she shouted. "How _dare_ you use me to cheat on your marefriend?!"

"But I—!" Shining said.

"Twilight is my friend!" Rarity said. She got up and put an arm defensively around Twilight. "She is far too good for the likes of _you_, you two-timing snake!"

Twilight started laughing at the situation.

"Twiley, it's not funny!" Shining Armor said, trying to use a napkin to clean off the water which was dripping all over his face.

"Ha ha ha—yes it is!" she said. "Rarity, Shining Armor is my—ha ha—my _brother!_"

Rarity's pupils shrank to pinpricks. "He's...your_ brother?_"

Twilight nodded.

Rarity practically jumped on Shining Armor, in her haste to apologize. "Oh my gosh, I'm _so_ sorry!" Rarity said. "I thought that you were—I didn't mean to splash water—are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Shining Armor said. "It's not your fault. I probably would have done the same thing."

"I guess I overreacted, too..." Twilight said, somewhat reluctantly. "But my question still stands. What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you get the message from Princess Celestia?" Shining Armor asked. "I'm here to help with the mission in the Everfree Forest."

"Yes, but I didn't expect you here _today_," Twilight said. "I mean, we haven't even scheduled a day or a time for the mission yet!"

"What mission is this?" Rarity asked.

"Official royal business," Shining Armor said importantly. "Princess Celestia sent us here to take care of it."

"An important mission from the Princess?" Rarity said. "Shining Armor, you are just the most _fascinating_ stallion I've ever met!"

Twilight's jaw dropped in confusion. "What are you—?"

"_And_ you're a gentlecolt," Rarity said. She placed a quick peck on Shining Armor's cheek. "Thank you for not being angry with me."

"Ew!" Twilight said. "Gross, Rarity! He's my _brother!_"


	10. Dark Shadows in the Everfree

On Fridays, Ponyville Elementary only has a half day of school. This tradition was started by the previous schoolteacher, Lon Dis Tense, whose coltfriend lived in Canterlot. She always ended school at noon, so she could catch the 12:30 train to Canterlot and spend the weekend with him.

Cheerilee didn't have a special somepony in another city, but she certainly didn't object to having Friday afternoons off. So she continued Ms. Tense's tradition of half-day Fridays. This made Friday afternoon the ideal time for Twilight to schedule the mission into the Everfree Forest.

So it was that, when school was over that Friday, Cheerilee walked Spike and Scootaloo to the Golden Oaks Library. The teacher was slightly surprised to see Pinkie Pie and Rarity there, talking to Twilight.

"Scootaloo! Cheerilee! You made it!" Twilight said, smiling. "Great. I was worried you wouldn't get my message in time."

"Hello, Twilight," Cheerilee said. "What's this all about?"

"Yeah, your letter said you need our help with something important," Scootaloo said.

"I'll explain once Applejack gets here," Twilight said. "All five of you need to hear this."

Scootaloo and Cheerilee shared a glance, wondering what Twilight could be talking about. Spike, on the other hand, was more worried about the fact that the gorgeous Rarity was standing no less than ten feet away from him.

_She's here!_ Spike thought. _Okay, Spike, play it cool._ He rubbed his hand through his spikes, then approached Rarity. "Hello," he said. "I'm Spike."

"Oh, hello," Rarity said. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm one of your daughter's best friends," Spike said.

"My...what?" Rarity asked, her left eye scrunching in confusion.

"Sweetie Belle," Spike said. "Your daughter."

"How old do you think I am?" Rarity gasped. "Sweetie Belle is my _sister!_"

Spike's jaw dropped. "She _is?_" he asked. "But I thought you—and her—and..." The small dragon began to sweat, while Rarity glared daggers at him. Trying to redeem himself, he blurted out, "Pinkie said you two were related!"

"I sure did!" Pinkie said happily. "I was just joking about the mother thing, though."

"Pinkie!" Rarity said, turning on her friend. "I know you like practical jokes, but that's going a bit too far!"

"I thought it'd be funny!" Pinkie said, shrugging. "Sorry!"

Rarity sighed and looked to the side. "In the future, try more _sophisticated _humor," she said in a dignified voice, before walking away with her head held high.

"All right!" Pinkie said to Spike, when Rarity was out of earshot. "It looks like Operation Take the Blame for Spike was a success! Now she doesn't hate you forever!"

"Yeah," Spike said. He let out the largest sigh of his life. "Thanks for the save, Pinkie."

"No problemo, Spikey Wikey!" Pinkie Pie said. In a more serious voice, she added, "Just don't make me do it again, okay? I don't like lying to my friends."

"I understand," Spike said. "And thanks, again. I owe you a _major _favor now."

"Hmmm..." Pinkie thought, wondering what favor she should call in. "Tell you what. I want you to promise me something."

"What?" Spike asked.

Pinkie Pie leaned closer to Spike. "If things don't work out between you and Rarity, look me up, okay?" She winked saucily at Spike, and gave him a small smile.

A humongous shiver immediately went down Spike's back. "That...that's a joke, too, right?" he asked.

Pinkie laughed loud and hard at that. Spike then decided it would be a good time for him to escape and hide in the kitchen.

Not long after, Applejack arrived. She apologized for her lateness—something about last-minute customers at the apple stand—and everypony gathered together around Twilight.

"What's this all about?" Applejack asked. "Your letter said there's some kind of emergency."

"There is," Twilight said. "Shining Armor, you can come out now!"

Shining Armor entered the room, from upstairs. He was dressed in shining silver armor, and he was carrying a series of posterboards ahead of him.

"Hello, everypony," Shining Armor said. "I'm Shining Armor. I'm a sub-captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot. I'm also Twilight's incredibly good-looking older brother!"

"And how!" Rarity whispered to Pinkie Pie.

_"Shining!"_ Twilight whined. "That's not part of the script!"

"Heh...right," Shining Armor said. He put the posterboards on a stand that Twilight had set up and turned towards the group. "I'm here to escort you on today's mission."

"Mission?" the ponies asked.

"Wait, are you a spy?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No, he's a soldier," Twilight said. "Shining's specialty is defensive magic. He's here to protect us."

"Protect us from what?" Cheerilee asked.

"Let me start at the beginning," Twilight said, holding up a hoof. "This is going to take a while to explain, so I made up a series of posters to help."

She removed the cover sheet from the stand, to reveal the first poster, which was a large picture of Princess Luna. "This is Princess Celestia's sister," Twilight said, pointing at it with her wing.

"Right, Princess Luna," Applejack said. "What about her?"

Twilight was taken by surprise at this. "Wait, you know who she is?"

The five ponies all nodded. "_Everypony_ knows about Princess Luna!" Pinkie Pie said. "She's the one who turned into Nightmare Moon! They tell the story every Nightmare Night!"

Twilight and her brother shared a confused glance with each other. "But...both me and my brother never heard of her before!" Twilight said.

"Oh, that's right," Rarity realized. "Nightmare Night is just a small celebration in Canterlot. Not like it is here."

"Nightmare Night is a big deal here?" Shining Armor asked.

"It's a huge holiday," Applejack said. "Everypony in town gets all dressed up for it, and there are carnival games and everything."

"There's even a statue of Nightmare Moon, near the forest," Cheerilee said. "It's on the path that leads to the Ancient Castle of the Pony Sisters."

"WHAAA?" Twilight shouted.

"Is _that_ where the path leads?" Rarity asked. "I didn't know that. I try to stay away from the Everfree."

"Okay..." Twilight said, feeling flustered. "Maybe this presentation won't take as long as I thought." She threw aside her first few posters, then stopped on one of Nightmare Moon, standing next to a large hourglass. "Do you all know about Nightmare Moon's return, then?"

"Yep!" Pinkie Pie said. "After a thousand years, she's going to come back and gobble us up like candy!"

"Er, not quite," Twilight said. Picking up a somewhat old book, she read, "Alas, Princess Celestia's banishing spell will not last forever. It will naturally dissipate, when next the moon is close to Earth for an adequate temporal event, _viz._, the summer solstice of the year before the next millennial."

Silence followed this statement.

_"What?"_ everypony asked.

Twilight sighed and closed the book. "Unicorn astronomers say the spell is going to break during the Summer Sun Celebration, in the year 1999," Twilight said.

"But—that's less than a month away!" Rarity gasped.

"Are you serious?" Cheerilee asked. "You think Nightmare Moon is going to return _this_ year?"

"I'm absolutely certain of it," Twilight said. "And what's more, Princess Celestia told me this herself. That's why she put me in charge of the Summer Sun Celebration here. She wants us to be ready."

"Now just a second," Applejack said. "You're saying that Ponyville is going to be attacked by an all-powerful evil alicorn. How in the hay are we supposed to get ready for that?"

"She's not all-powerful," Twilight said. "She was defeated a thousand years ago, with the Elements of Harmony. With your help, we can defeat her again."

"_Our_ help?" Scootaloo asked.

"Elements of _huh?_" Pinkie asked.

"The Elements of Harmony," Twilight said, pulling another poster off of stand. "There are six of them: loyalty, laughter, generosity, kindness and honesty. I think you five are the perfect ponies for them."

The poster on the stand had two columns. The left column had a picture of an element, along with its name. The right column had the picture of one of the ponies, along with her name.

**Bearers of the Elements of Harmony**

1. Element of Loyalty—Rarity  
2. Element of Laughter—Pinkie Pie  
3. Element of Generosity—Applejack  
4. Element of Kindness—Cheerilee  
5. Element of Honesty—Scootaloo  
6. Unknown—?

Rarity sat down. "This is too much," she said. "This is far, _far_ too much."

"I agree," Applejack said. "What are these elementals things?"

"They're some kind of ancient magical artifacts," Twilight said. "I haven't seen them, so I don't know the specifics of how they work."

Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the right, as she looked at the poster. "Um...I've always kinda wanted to be a national hero, but..." she said. "What's with the last one on the list? Why's it empty?"

"Nopony knows what that element is," Twilight said. "But Shining Armor looked up that symbol in The Cutie Mark Encyclopedia. It's a unicorn cutie mark that's a sign of great magical power."

"So it's the Element of Magic?" Pinkie asked. "Who's that gonna be? Somepony from Canterlot?"

"This seems too dangerous to me," Cheerilee said. "And besides, I don't think I can be the Element of Kindness. There are many more ponies in town who are kinder than I am."

"Look, let's not get sidetracked here," Shining Armor spoke up. "At this point, it doesn't matter who the Element Bearers are. The important thing we have to do is retrieve the Elements and keep them safe. That's the mission that Princess Celestia has requested us to go on."

"I've never had a Princess ask me to do something before..." Rarity said.

"What do you mean, 'retrieve the Elements'?" Applejack asked. "Where are they?"

"They're inside the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters," Twilight said. "In the Everfree Forest."

* * *

After some debate, all the ponies agreed to go on the mission to get the Elements of Harmony. "There's safety in numbers," Applejack had said.

The trip through the Everfree Forest was rather uneventful. Twilight's original plan called for them to take a rather dangerous route through manticore territory, following a path that went over cliffs and serpent-infested rivers. But it turned out that the path Cheerilee had suggested—the one by the statue of Nightmare Moon—was a lot safer.

It helped that Shining Armor was there the whole time, casting a defensive bubble around the entire group. Rarity stayed very close to him, claiming it was for her protection.

Eventually, the path ended at a bridge, connected two cliffs. The far end of the bridge had some untied ropes, which made it impossible for anyone to walk across. Even though it was 1:00 PM, there was a large amount of dark fog on the other side of the chasm. An ominous castle stood in the distance.

"I'll fly over and secure the bridge," Twilight volunteered.

"No, me!" Scootaloo said. "I can do it! I've been practicing my takeoffs!"

Scootaloo jumped up and flapped her wings, but she soon landed back on the ground. She tried again, flapping her wings harder, with the same result.

"Never mind," Scootaloo said sadly. "I can't do it."

"It's okay, Scootaloo," Twilight said reassuringly. "Learning how to take off can be tricky. Besides, you've only had two flying lessons."

"I guess..." Scootaloo said.

"Here, _this_ is how you do it," Twilight said. She jumped up and forward, using her momentum as a starting point to launch herself into the air. Gracefully flapping her wings forward, Twilight flew over the chasm and landed on the far cliff.

As Twilight landed, a shadowy figure stepped out of the dense fog. It was a tall, black pony, with wings, a horn, and blue armor.

"Twilight Sparkle," the dark alicorn said. "We meet at last."

"Nightmare Moon!" Twilight gasped.

"I've heard a lot about you," Nightmare said. "You're the pony who has been chosen to destroy me."

Twilight bent down, ready to fly at a moment's notice. "So you came here to destroy me first, is that right?"

"Peace, Twilight," Nightmare Moon said, holding up a hoof in a defensive gesture. "I did not come here to fight. I came to talk."

"Talk about what?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare Moon sat down and removed her blue helmet. "You, mostly," she said. "I don't understand why you're here. You're not a unicorn."

Twilight's face dropped. Seriously? The unicorn thing again? She felt like facehoofing. Even ancient alicorns thought she should be a unicorn.

"What's wrong with me being a pegasus?" Twilight asked defensively.

"Nothing, except for the fact that only a unicorn can wield the Element of Magic," Nightmare Moon said. "So why would Celestia decide to put _you _in charge of the Elements of Harmony?"

"She trusts me," Twilight said. "I'm her personal student."

"No," Nightmare said. "You're not a student; you're a charity case. Celestia doesn't trust you; she just feels sorry for you."

"That's not true!" Twilight said. "The Princess love—she likes me."

"That's what I thought, too," Nightmare Moon said. "Then she banished me to the moon for a thousand years. If she could do that to her sister, who she's known for hundreds of years, imagine what she could do to you."

"I...you're trying to trick me!" Twilight said. "You want to turn me against Princess Celestia!"

Nightmare Moon smiled sadly. "I'm just telling you the truth," she said. "In time, you'll see that I am right."

Twilight took a step backwards and flared her wings. Somehow, this calm version of Nightmare Moon scared her much more than the laughing egomaniac from the storybooks.

"...I could do it, you know," Nightmare Moon said.

"Do what?" Twilight asked.

"Turn you into a unicorn," Nightmare Moon said. "Would you like that?"

"You—how?"

"I am the Princess of the Night," Nightmare Moon said simply. "My special talent is making dreams come true."

Twilight looked suspiciously at Nightmare Moon, whose teal eyes looked surprisingly sincere. "What do you want in return?" she asked.

"Nothing," Nightmare Moon said. She shrugged innocently. "To be perfectly honest, I can't make you a unicorn until a few weeks. After all, I'm still on the moon right now. I have barely enough magic to talk to you in this fog form."

* * *

On the other side of the cliff, the ponies were getting scared. They could see Twilight talking to some sort of dark, shadowy creature.

"TWILIGHT!" Shining Armor shouted. _"TWILIGHT!"_

"She can't hear you," Rarity said. "Why isn't your spell doing anything?"

"I don't know!" Shining Armor said. "My defensive magic should have blasted that shadow creature by now!"

The truth was that Shining's defensive magic was working just fine. Nightmare Moon wasn't being affected by Shining's magic, because she wasn't attacking Twilight. Not physically, at any rate.

Scootaloo was jumping up and down, trying desperately to start flying. Eventually, she gave up and pouted. "I wish I could fly, not just glide," she said.

"Wait," Shining Armor said. "How far can you glide?"

"Um...a hundred feet?" Scootaloo guessed. "Maybe more. I didn't have a ruler."

"Good enough for me," Shining Armor said. He picked up Scootaloo, held her above his head, and threw her into the sky with all his might.

* * *

"You don't have to decide right away," Nightmare Moon said. "You still have plenty of time left before the Summer Sun Celebration."

"I..." Twilight said. "I don't want to go against my friends. Especially Princess Celestia."

"That is understandable," Nightmare Moon said, nodding. "Your friends are good ponies. But Celestia has been manipulating you from the beginning. Do you _really _want to stand with her?"

"I—" Twilight said.

"Twiliiiight!" Scootaloo shouted, as she glided across the chasm. "What's taking you so long?"

"Scootaloo!" Twilight said, as the small filly landed next to her.

"Hello, Scootaloo," Nightmare Moon said. "I didn't expect to see _you _here at my castle."

"N-nightmare Moon!" Scootaloo gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I offered to help Twilight," Nightmare Moon said. "I could help you, too, you know. I can find your parents for you."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

"Your father has forgotten about you, I'm afraid," Nightmare Moon said. "But your mother...ah, yes. She still dreams about you sometimes."

Instead of weakening Twilight Sparkle's resolve, Nightmare Moon's words had the opposite effect. Twilight's face took on an angry shade, as she stepped forward to put herself in between Scootaloo and Nightmare Moon.

"Don't try to use my friends against me," Twilight said seriously.

"You misunderstand," Nightmare Moon said. "I'm not trying to manipulate you or Scootaloo."

"Go away," Twilight said. "I don't have time to talk to nightmares."

Nightmare Moon's eyes flashed a bright green for a second. "Do not make the wrong choice, Twilight Sparkle," she warned, her voice growing deeper. "The consequences will be deadly, for you and everypony else."

Scootaloo looked between the two older mares, then stepped close to Twilight's side. "Yeah!" she said. "We're not gonna listen to a mean liar like you! Right, Twilight?"

"R-right," Twilight said.

Nightmare Moon put her helmet back on and stepped away. She cast a glance back at Twilight. "My offer still stands," she said. "You have three weeks to decide. Three weeks."

The fog making up Nightmare Moon's ethereal body blew away, leaving nothing but shadows behind.

* * *

The rest of the adventure was without incident. Once Twilight fixed the bridge, the ponies were easily able to enter the castle. The first major room of the castle had a large circular pedestal in the middle. Sticking out of the sides, like panhandles, were five dishes, each containing a dull gray sphere.

"This is it," Twilight said. "I think these spheres are the Elements of Harmony."

"They don't _look_ like they can destroy Nightmare Moon," Applejack said. "What do we do with them?"

"I don't know," Twilight said. "Claim them? We should probably start by picking them up."

Rarity went first. She used her magic to lift a sphere and bring it to her. It started glowing white, and lines appeared on the surface.

"Shining, save me!" Rarity cried, jumping into Shining Armor's hooves.

"I've got you, Rarity," Shining Armor promised, as Rarity hugged him tightly.

Meanwhile, the lines on the sphere formed into the shape of a diamond, which looked just like Rarity's cutie mark. The sphere opened up, revealing a golden necklace inside. The front of the necklace was the diamond-shaped cutie mark.

"Oooo!" Rarity said. "That must be my Element of Harmony! It's not an artifact; it's _jewelry!_"

The other girls stepped forward, and each one grabbed a sphere. Pinkie Pie got a necklace which was shaped like a blue balloon, while Applejack got an apple-shaped necklace.

"Mine doesn't seem to be working," Cheerilee said.

Twilight walked up and tapped the sphere with her hoof. It shivered in response and lines flew all over the surface, but they didn't form into any particular shape.

"Huh," Twilight said. "With everypony else, the Element turned into their cutie mark."

"Um...Twilight?" Scootaloo said. "It's not working for me, either."

"What? Why not?" Twilight asked.

Scootaloo turned sideways and pointed at her blank flank. "I don't have a cutie mark," she said.


	11. A Great Surprise

Twilight Sparkle frowned, as she reread the letter from Princess Celestia.

_No. I told you in my last letter that you cannot stay. Your mission in Ponyville is now over. You must return to Canterlot._

Before she knew it, she was back in the hateful city of Canterlot. Back with her mean boss, with the unicorn students who openly disrespected her, and back with...her family.

"I don't understand it," Shining Armor said. "She had a chance to be a hero. She could have saved the world! Why did she give up?"

"She's just a pegasus," Twilight's mother said. "What did you expect?"

Twilight's father sighed. "I love Twilight, but...sometimes, I wish we had a unicorn. Life would have been so much better for her. As it is, she's just a failure."

_Failure._

_I wish we had a unicorn._

_Failure._

_Only a unicorn can wield the Element of Magic._

_You cannot stay in Ponyville. I forbid it. I am your Princess, and you must obey, you miserable little wretch._

_Failure._

* * *

"Augh!" Twilight groaned as she woke up. Putting her hoof on her chest, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Another nightmare?" Spike asked.

"Yeah..." Twilight said, rubbing her eyes. This time, she had fallen asleep at one of the desks at the library, when she was supposed to be watching over Spike and Scootaloo. "I haven't been able to sleep, ever since we got the Elements of Harmony."

"Is it because Nightmare Moon—?" Scootaloo began to say.

Twilight cut Scootaloo off; she hadn't told anypony about Nightmare Moon's offer. "I'm sure it's just because of stress," Twilight said. She gave a weak chuckle. "After all, I need to find three new Elements of Harmony!"

"I'm sorry I can't be the Element of Honesty," Scootaloo said.

"It's not your fault," Twilight said. "Besides, none of the Elements worked for me or Cheerilee, either. I guess not everypony can use them."

"Too bad they don't come with an instruction manual," Spike said. "Or labels."

"Labels?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Spike said. He gestured towards the glass display case, containing the three Elements of the Harmony they had, along with the two gray spheres they had collected. "I mean, how are you supposed to know which element is which?"

"Well, they match the ponies' cutie marks," Twilight said.

"Yeah, but the cutie marks have nothing to do with the Elements," Spike said. "A diamond for loyalty? An apple for generosity? They don't really fit well."

"In other words, if I've got any the Elements mixed up, there's no way for me to know it," Twilight said. She dropped her sleepy head on the desk in front of her. "Great, Spike. Just great. That's a brand new disaster I never thought of."

"Sorry..." Spike said.

"Yeah, well..." Twilight yawned. "Presuming I haven't made any mistakes, I still need to find the Elements of Kindness, Honesty and Magic. Too bad I have no idea where to start looking."

"What about the magician who's coming to town?" Scootaloo suggested.

"A magician in Ponyville?" Twilight asked.

"Snips and Snails were talking about it all during school today," Spike said. "There's some big magician who's putting on a show tonight."

"The Great and Powerful...um...Trucy," Scootaloo said.

"Trixie," Spike corrected. "You know...Trixie is the name of the pony who hatched me from my egg."

"I remember her," Twilight Sparkle said. "She was Princess Celestia's student before I was."

Scootaloo looked at Spike. "A _pony_ hatched you from an egg?" she asked.

"It was a test to get into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Twilight explained. "Apparently, Trixie was the only who could do it. The Princess made her a student, right then and there."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked. "What happened to her?"

Twilight shrugged. "I dunno. She decided to stop going to school, I guess. I only met her the one time, and that was over ten years ago."

"Can we go see her?" Scootaloo asked.

"I doubt it's the same pony," Twilight said. She yawned again. "But I'll take you to see her show, _if _you two can finish your math homework in time."

"Awww..." Scootaloo said. "Can't we have another flying lesson, instead? Math is boring!"

"Have you been doing the wing exercises that Rainbow Dash showed you?" Twilight asked.

"Um...I forgot," Scootaloo said, sheepishly.

"And that's why you aren't having flying lessons," Twilight said. "You can't fly if you don't train your wings properly. Now go back to doing your math."

Scootaloo grumbled about Twilight being a boring, bossy-face, but she did her homework anyway.

* * *

A small stage had been set up in the town square. By the time Twilight arrived with Scootaloo and Spike, a small crowd of ponies were already there. The three of them were pushing their way through the crowd when the show started.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" a voice shouted. "Prepare to witness the most amazing acts of magic, ever seen by pony eyes!"

The curtains flew open, revealing a blue mare with purple clothing. She stood up on her hind legs and made fireworks appear. "I am the Great and Powerful TRIXIE!" she said, while some of the ponies applauded.

"You know, I think it _is_ the same Trixie," Twilight said.

Spike squinted at Trixie, up on the stage. "You could be right!" he said.

"Where?" Scootaloo said, jumping up. "I can't see!"

"Do you need me to hold you up?" Twilight asked.

"No!" Scootaloo said. She ducked down under Twilight's stomach and crawled forward, so she could see the view from in front of Twilight.

Scootaloo let out a huge gasp, as she instantly recognized the pony onstage. Trixie was older, and now she was wearing a hat and cape, but there was no mistaking it. She was the pony Scootaloo saw almost every night, before going to bed.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, alarmed. She looked down at the filly in front of her.

"That's my mom!" Scootaloo said.

_"WHAT?"_ Twilight shouted.

"That's right!" Trixie said. "The Great and Powerful—"

"Mom!" Scootaloo shouted. She jumped forward and flew—literally _flew_—onstage, with three flaps of her wings. True, it was only a distance of six feet and a height of four feet, but it was still impressive for her first flight.

Trixie's jaw dropped. _"Scootaloo?"_ she asked.

"Mom, you came back for me!" Scootaloo said, hugging Trixie.

Tears filled Trixie's eyes. "Scootaloo!" she said.

* * *

A half hour later, a furious Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth through her living room.

"This is ridiculous," Twilight said. "Scootaloo is an orphan! Her parents are _dead!_"

"Not necessary," Rarity said, from the couch, where she was sitting with Shining Armor. "They could have put her up for adoption."

"That's a nice way of saying Trixie _abandoned her baby_," Twilight said harshly. "Just like how she abandoned Spike, after she hatched him! Gee, what a great track record she has! Let's put her back in Scootaloo's life, so she can abandon a foal _again_. Third time's the charm!"

"Did she act like this when you were growing up?" Rarity whispered to Shining Armor.

"Not very often," Shining Armor responded. "She only gets like this when she's really, _really_ upset."

"And now she's kicked me out of my own kitchen! All because she needs _privacy_, to talk with her _precious, long-lost child_. Ha! If Scootaloo was precious to her at _all_, she never would have become long-lost!"

"Twiley, you need to calm down," Shining Armor said.

"I am _not_ going to let that mare ruin Scootaloo's life again!" Twilight said, stomping her hoof on the ground. "I have to find a way to keep her away from Scootaloo!"

"You can't do that," Shining Armor said. "I mean, she _is_ Scootaloo's mother..."

"She gave up her rights to Scootaloo when she abandoned her!" Twilight said. "I don't care _what_ I have to do to protect Scootaloo! I'll adopt Scootaloo myself, if that's what it takes!"

"Do you _really_ want to be a single mother?" Rarity asked.

"Well...no," Twilight said, stopping her pacing. "I have a hard enough time keeping Spike under control. But still. I don't want to see Scootaloo get hurt again."

"Nopony wants to see that, Twilight," Rarity said. "And Trixie _did_ seem very sincere about losing her child."

"Ha! She's a show mare," Twilight said. "She's an expert at fooling other ponies."

Twilight's tirade was cut short, when somepony from outside started knocking on the front door.

"I'll get it," Shining Armor volunteered. He trotted to the front door and opened it with his magic.

His jaw immediately dropped when he saw who it was. "Princess Celestia!" he said.

Princess Celestia glared at Shining Armor, and his heart turned cold. The Supreme Ruler of Equestria was not just angry; she was _royally_ angry.

"Shining Armor," Princess Celestia said in a terse voice. "What are you doing here in Ponyville?"

"I—"

"Your mission was finished three days ago," Celestia said. "Why are you still here?"

"I, uh, thought I could help my sister Twilight find the other Elements," Shining Armor said. "And, um...there's this mare..."

"You will report back to Canterlot immediately," Princess Celestia said. "If I return home before you do, you can consider yourself demoted. Do I make myself clear?"

"Uh...aye, aye, Your Highness," Shining Armor said.

"Good," Princess Celestia said. She stepped inside, while Shining Armor dashed upstairs to get his luggage.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight gasped. "How did you get here so quickly?"

"Twilight. I came as soon as I got your letter," Princess Celestia said. She looked sternly at her student. "If this is some kind of joke..."

"It's all true," Twilight said. "I wouldn't joke about something like this."

"Where is Trixie?" Celestia asked.

"She's in the kitchen with Scootaloo," Twilight said. She made a sour face. "She said the two of them needed _privacy_."

"Get her. Bring her here," Celestia ordered.

"Should I get Scootaloo, too?" Twilight asked.

"Hmmm...no. The child doesn't need to hear this."

Twilight went to the kitchen, while Princess Celestia took a few heavy footsteps towards the right.

"Princess Celestia, Your Highness...are you okay?" Rarity asked.

Princess Celestia let out a horse-like snort. "I just found out my personal student had an illegitimate child while she was studying with me," she said. "Of course I'm not okay."

"Oh...oh dear," Rarity said.

Celestia looked pointedly at Rarity. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Rarity," she said. "I'm Twilight's friend."

"Ah, yes, the Element of Loyalty," Celestia said. A small smile broke through Celestia's harsh demeanor. "I should have expected you to be here, supporting your friend."

"Twilight is...very upset about this situation," Rarity said. "But Scootaloo thinks it's the best day of her life. I'm not sure I can balance the two of them."

The door to the kitchen shut, as Twilight and Trixie came out. "Here she is," Twilight said. Trixie had her hat off, and she looked worried. The instant she saw the angry look on Celestia's face, Trixie hung her head in shame.

"Trixie," Celestia said. "It's been a long time."

"Y-yes, it has," Trixie said. "I'm sorry for what I did."

"I had the Royal Guard search for you for weeks," Celestia said. "I thought you were kidnapped or killed."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Trixie said. "I wanted to keep studying magic, I really did. But I couldn't stay in Canterlot."

"You didn't want anypony to know you were pregnant," Celestia said.

"No, I had to get out of town," Trixie said. "If he found out what happened, it would have been...horrible..."

"He?" Twilight asked.

"Prince Blueblood," Trixie said. "...Scootaloo's father."

Twilight felt like someone had smacked her across the head with a wooden board. Even Princess Celestia was surprised.

Across the room, Shining Armor dropped his suitcase down the stairs. _"Blueblood?"_ he asked. "Are you saying that scumbag—"

"Shining!" Celestia said.

"Uh, right! Demotion! I'm leaving!" Shining said, grabbing his suitcase and running out the door.

"Blueblood is the father?" Celestia asked. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Trixie nodded. "There's nopony else it could be," she said. "But when I told him I was pregnant, he...gave me money and told me to get rid of it..."

"Oh, my," Rarity said, putting her hooves over her mouth.

"Blueblood—I—this changes everything," Celestia said.

"You can't tell him!" Trixie said. "He'll claim sole custody and take Scootaloo away from me!"

"She's not yours!" Twilight said. "And besides, there's no way _Blueblood_ would want to take care of a filly."

"The laws are...complicated, when the child of royalty is involved," Celestia said, not wanting to go into more detail. "I would have to look some things up before I can decide what to do."

Trixie threw herself at Princess Celestia's left hoof. "You _can't_ take Scootaloo away from me!" she said. "You just _can't!_ I know I deserve it, but _she doesn't!_ Please!"

Celestia wrapped her other hoof around Trixie's body, in a half-hug. "Do not worry," she said. "I'll take care of everything. You just take Scootaloo home, okay? All will be well."

It took some convincing, but Trixie eventually left with Scootaloo. The small child was bouncing around with excitement the whole time. When they were gone, Twilight immediately tried to start up a conversation about Scootaloo, but Princess Celestia did not want to pursue this topic.

"I should be leaving as well," Celestia said. "I left the castle quite suddenly. No doubt, everypony will want to know where I've been."

Princess Celestia stopped to look at the display case with the Elements of Harmony inside. "You've done a good job with the Elements," she said. "I am certain you can find the other two in time."

"But Princess..." Twilight said. "What about the sixth one? The Element of Magic?"

"I am not sure," Celestia said. "Perhaps Trixie reappearing after all these years is a good thing, after all. Did you get a look at her cutie mark?"

Twilight thought backwards. "It's a star," she said. Then she gasped. "It's a six-pointed star, just like the Element of Magic!"

Princess Celestia nodded. "Exactly," she said. "That's why I made Trixie my personal student. After seeing her entrance exam _and _her cutie mark, I thought she could be the Element of Magic."

"But that was ten years ago," Twilight said.

"Yes, and I fear she hasn't studied a bit of magic since," Celestia sighed. "Hopefully, we can make up for lost time."

"No, that was _ten years ago_," Twilight said. "Just the other week, you told me that nopony knew what the last Element of Harmony was!"

"I mean nopony besides me," Celestia said. "I saw the Elements get used a thousand years ago, after all."

"You _lied_ to me?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare Moon's voice sounded in Twilight's head. _Celestia has been manipulating you from the beginning. Do you really want to stand with her?_

"I didn't lie," Celestia said. "I...just didn't want to discourage you."

"So you kept the truth from me?" Twilight asked. "I thought we were friends!"

"We are," Celestia said. "But I didn't want to upset you by saying that the Element of Magic is probably Prince Blueblood."

Twilight gasped. _"What?"_

"His cutie mark is an eight-pointed magic star," Celestia said. "He and Trixie are the only ponies I know with magic star cutie marks, so I believe one of them must be the Element of Magic."

"No!" Twilight said, stepping backwards. "You can't be serious! I can't work with _him!_ You know what he did to me! You just heard what he did to Trixie!"

"I am not trying to defend him," Celestia said. "I am merely pointing out the strong possibility that he is the pony we're looking for. And now that Trixie has returned—"

"So you _did_ lie to me!" Twilight said.

"Twilight..." Celestia said. "Look deep inside yourself. If I had told you from the beginning that Blueblood was one of the ponies you needed, would you have done this mission?"

Twilight thought about that. "...Probably not," she admitted.

"That's why I told you to leave the last Element of Harmony to me, while you focused on the first five," Celestia said. "I wanted to avoid hurting you."

"No," Twilight disagreed. "You _used _me. You deliberately misled me. I care more about Scootaloo than any other filly in the world, and now her life is going to be ruined, all because of your lies and your deception!"

Both Twilight and Celestia had faces contorted with pain. "My little pony..." Celestia said kindly.

"Don't call me that!" Twilight spat. "You and your stupid nephew! You and your precious student! She was right—you don't see me as a _real_ student! I'm just a charity case that you feel sorry for! Your _real students_ are the ones who can help you with your precious plan! Who cares if they're a bunch of lying, cheating, jerks? As long as they help carry out your secret agenda, they can do whatever they want!"

"Twilight, you're getting hysterical," Rarity interjected.

"That's why Blueblood has been allowed to go free, isn't it?" Twilight demanded. "You _should_ have thrown him in jail years ago, but you didn't, because you knew he was the only one to help you carry out your plan! Well, _I'm out!_"

Twilight flared her wings and slammed her front hooves on the ground. "I'm not helping you with the Elements of Harmony anymore!" she shouted. "You and your sister can go to Tartarus, for all I care! Goodbye!"

Twilight flew upstairs to her bedroom and slammed the door as loudly as she could. Princess Celestia stood in place and pursed her lips. _Just when I thought tonight couldn't get any worse..._

"Um...Princess?" Rarity asked, timidly. "I'm sure Twilight didn't mean what she said. Please, don't punish her."

Celestia smiled weakly. "I'm not going to banish Twilight to the moon for one emotional outburst," Celestia said. "It's been a difficult night for everypony."

"That's an understatement," Rarity said.

"Maybe I was wrong to put so much pressure on her," Celestia said. "I'll contact her tomorrow morning. She'll feel better after a night of sleep."

Princess Celestia headed to the front door, when she stopped and turned towards Rarity. "Oh, by the way," Celestia said. "I have a present for you, Rarity."

"A...present? For me?" Rarity asked.

Celestia focused her magic, and a number of gold-colored tickets fell on the table in front of Rarity. "Enjoy."

Rarity picked them up. "Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?" she gasped.

"One for all five of you," Celestia said. "Consider it my thanks for retrieving the Elements of Harmony."

"I've always _dreamed _of attending the Gala!" Rarity said enthusiastically. "Thank you!"

"Unfortunately, I don't have time to deliver them myself," Celestia said. "Could you give them to the other ponies for me?"

"It would be my honor," Rarity said, bowing lowly.

"On second thought, use Spike to send them letters," Celestia said. "Ask the other ponies to come here to get the tickets. I have a feeling Twilight could use her friends right now."

* * *

Twelve minutes later, there were four ponies gathered outside the door to Twilight's bedroom.

"Twilight, darling? You need to come out. We're worried about you!"

"Yeah, don't be a mopey pants! Come out and talk to us!"

"Rarity says you've locked yourself in here. What's wrong? I'm sure we can help."

"Sugarcube, if you don't open this door by the count of five, I'm gonna break it down! One, two, three, four...five!"

***smash!***

"Applejack, what are you _doing?_"

"I'm kicking the door down, like I said I would!"

"That's destruction of property! That's—"

"...It was unlocked the whole time?"

"Well, that was—hey, she's not in here!"

"Where's Twilight?"

* * *

Deep in the Everfree Forest, a lone pegasus walked in the cold mist.

"Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked, shivering slightly. "Nightmare! I know you're here! Come out!"

A small tendril of black fog turned itself into a vague representation of Nightmare Moon's head. "Twilight?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I've made my decision," Twilight said. "I don't care what Princess Celestia says anymore. I want to become a unicorn."

Nightmare Moon chuckled evilly.


	12. The Alicorn Amulet

How did Nightmare Moon learn about Twilight Sparkle? How did she know that Celestia was building up a six-pony crew to defeat her?

Dreams.

Nightmare Moon's power had been severely weakened, in the battle against Celestia. It took four centuries before Nightmare Moon could view ponies' dreams again. That was _all _she could do: view the dreams. She didn't have the power to enter the dreams and speak to the sleeping ponies.

Recently, things had changed. Celestia's original spell was deteriorating quickly. The moon had entered the final phase of the thousand-year curse, and as it waxed in power, so did the nightmare whose power was tied to the moon.

Nightmare Moon contented herself with spying on the ponies who were going to oppose her. Most of their dreams were boring and irrelevant, but she managed to pick up a few pieces of useful information here and there, like the fact that Scootaloo was an orphan.

Nightmare Moon used that information to her advantage. She gave Trixie Lulamoon a little push in the right direction, giving her dreams of visiting Ponyville. And of course, Nightmare Moon made sure to change all of Twilight's dreams into nightmares.

Really, Nightmare Moon was surprised that she got away with that trick. You'd think a pony as smart as Twilight would be able to put two and two together. Constant nightmares, after confronting _Nightmare _Moon? It was obvious what was happening, but the sleep deprivation must have been impairing Twilight's thought processes.

"So, can you do it?" Twilight asked. "Can you make me a unicorn?"

"I can," Nightmare Moon said. "As long as you do something first."

"No," Twilight said.

_"What?"_ Nightmare Moon asked.

"You're just like Celestia. You're trying to use me, so you can get the upper hoof in your stupid battle," Twilight said angrily. "Well, I'm not making any one-sided deals anymore. Either you make me a unicorn, or I leave. Now."

Nightmare Moon immediately changed tactics. "You misunderstand me completely," she said. "Tell me, Twilight. What is the only creature more powerful than a unicorn?"

"An alicorn," Twilight said. "Like you."

"Yes. To turn a pegasus into a unicorn, you have to use alicorn magic," Nightmare Moon said. "As I told you earlier, I'd perform the spell myself, if I wasn't currently stuck on the moon."

"Well, then, that doesn't help me," Twilight said. "What, am I supposed to hunt down Princess Cadance or somepony?"

"No, what you need is the alicorn amulet," Nightmare Moon said.

"The what?" Twilight asked.

"I made it, over a thousand years ago," Nightmare Moon said. "It has magic strong enough to turn you into any type of pony you want. All you have to do is put it on and concentrate on being a unicorn. The amulet will do the rest."

"That's it?" Twilight asked skeptically. "I just have to wear an amulet?"

"It's not that simple," Nightmare Moon said. "The magic behind it is immensely complex, and it takes about two days for the entire process to be completed. But if you want to become a unicorn, this is the best way to do it."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Where do I find the alicorn amulet?" she asked.

* * *

As Twilight flew away, Nightmare Moon felt a strange sensation which she had not felt in centuries. It took her a moment to realize that she was feeling the desire to giggle like an idiot. Her plans to sabotage the Elements of Harmony were working so well, it was ridiculous.

Giddy with happiness, Nightmare Moon decided to risk using more of her magic to interfere on the Earth. She slipped herself into Scootaloo's happy dreams. "Oh, Scootaloo!" Nightmare Moon called.

"Nightmare Moon!" Dream Scootaloo gasped. "You're a bad pony! Go away!"

"I'm not a bad pony. After all, I kept my promise to you," Nightmare Moon said. "I brought your mother back, didn't you?"

"That...that was _you?_" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," the Nightmare said. "And what about the cutie mark finder? What cutie mark did it show for you?"

"The...cutie mark finder?"

"The gray orbs," Nightmare Moon explained. "If you open one of them, you find a necklace with your cutie mark inside."

"That's what happened to the other ponies, but not me," Scootaloo said. She turned to show her flank to Nightmare Moon. "I don't have a cutie mark."

"But darling, that's what the cutie mark finder is for," Nightmare Moon said. "Even if you don't have a cutie mark, the necklace shows what your cutie mark will be."

Scootaloo perked up. "You mean, I just need to smash one of those things open, and I'll see what my cutie mark will be?" she asked.

"Exactly," Nightmare Moon said. "All you have to do is break the gray orbs."

_Manipulating children is so easy, sometimes,_ Nightmare Moon thought.

* * *

A shady shop in the alleyways of Canterlot had an unexpected visitor that night. The shopkeeper, a former doctor by the name of Curey O., was not used to seeing pegasi in his shop. Nor was he used to first-time customers who asked for goods by name.

"Ah, the alicorn amulet," Curey said, pointing to it. "It's a powerful artifact, although nopony is quite sure what it does."

"Can I try it on?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

The shopkeeper chuckled. "It's a _magical _artifact," he said. "As in, it only works for unicorns?"

"I want to try it on," Twilight insisted.

The shopkeeper thought about it. There was a dark history surrounding the alicorn amulet, but...he shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The instant the alicorn amulet snapped around Twilight's neck, the front of her forehead burned. Her eyes turned red, and she looked at the shopkeeper.

"I'll take it," she said, smiling.

"That will be one hundred bits," he said. "Plus, you need to fill out—"

Twilight grabbed the shopkeeper by the throat and pulled him close. "I said, I'll _take _it," she said. "I didn't say anything about paying."

Twilight threw Curey across the room and laughed maniacally before leaving with the alicorn amulet firmly around her neck.

* * *

That night, a series of inexplicable events occurred in Canterlot.

First off, an unidentified pegasus went to the University Library and started a tornado that knocked every single book off of the shelves. Twilight's rude former boss was forced to spend days, cleaning up the mess.

Somepony spray-painted "PRINCESS CELESTIA IS A LYING, FAT FLANK" in humongous letters, on the side of Canterlot Castle. The guards in the area were bewildered as to how this could have happened; they were patrolling the grounds the whole night.

The vandalism didn't stop there. 60% of the unicorn statues in Canterlot had their horns broken off. All the horns were found four days later, lying at the bottom of Canterlot Lake.

In a crime that went unreported, somepony broke into the house of Twilight's parents. Screaming about revenge for the worst vacation ever, the pony set one of the family photo albums on fire. The album in question contained pictures of the family's trip to Ohayo, from, sixteen years ago.

Finally, somepony managed to fight their way past Blueblood's guards and break into his apartments. Prince Blueblood was knocked unconscious, tied up with rope, then left hanging upside-down from one of the towers. He wasn't found for six hours, and when he was pulled to safety, it was discovered that an inappropriate word had been permanently tattooed on his forehead.

* * *

The next morning, Twilight woke up with the worst headache she had ever experienced in her life. "Ugh..." she groaned. "Oh..."

"Twi, are you awake?" a voice asked.

Twilight opened her eyes slowly. She was in a strange bed, in a clean room. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were standing nearby.

"Where am I?" Twilight asked.

"You're in the hospital," Pinkie Pie said. "And now that you're awake again, we can have a 'Twilight's Not Dead' party! Yay!"

"Why am—owwww...what happened?" Twilight asked.

"That's what we wanna know," Applejack said. "When you came back to your house last night, you were looking more beat up than a year-old sack of potatoes."

"Yeah, where were you?" Pinkie Pie asked. "We spent _hours _looking for you!"

"I...don't remember..." Twilight said. She lifted a sore hoof to her forehead, which throbbed with intense pain. "Ow..."

"Maybe we should get the nurse," Applejack said to Pinkie Pie.

"No need," a voice said. A white earth pony with a nurse's hat stepped into the room. "I'm here." The nurse opened a cabinet and pulled out a clipboard, as well as a bottle of water, which she gave to Twilight.

"Drink this," the nurse ordered. "You need fluids, after all your blood loss."

_"Blood loss?" _Twilight shouted. She sat upright, then screamed in pain. "My wings!"

Twilight turned to look at her wings. Her left wing was in a cast, and her right wing was missing about half of its feathers.

"I'm surprised you were able to fly with a broken wing," the nurse said, reading from the chart. "Who broke it?"

"I...I guess...me?" Twilight said, trying to make sense of things. "Maybe I crashed while I was flying?"

"No," the nurse said, while examining Twilight's forearm. "This isn't crash damage; the bruised areas are too far apart. I'd guess that you got into a fight."

"A fight?" Twilight asked. "But I've never fought anyone in my entire life!"

Pinkie and Applejack glanced at each other. "Uh...that's not exactly what Rarity said..." Applejack said.

"Yeah, she said you were upset, because you had a big fight with the Princess and the magician pony," Pinkie said.

"Magician pony?" Twilight asked. "You mean—oh. Oh, jeez. Now I remember. Ugh..."

"What is it?" Applejack asked. "What's wrong?"

"Scootaloo's parents!" Twilight said. "Her mom is Trixie, and her dad is...oh, I can't believe it..."

"Who?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Is it Applejack's brother?"

"Pinkie!" Applejack said. "Don't talk about Big Mac that way!"

"Hey, I think he'd make a great daddy!" Pinkie said.

Twilight gasped, as she remembered what happened after Trixie's exit. "Oh no!_ I yelled at Princess Celestia!_ I—I have to apologize before she—"

Nurse Sweetheart put her hoof over Twilight's body, forcing her to lie down. "You are _not _allowed to leave this bed for at least four days," she said.

"But—I—the Princess!"

"You can write a letter to the Princess from here," the nurse said.

"I'm doomed!" Twilight said. "Princess Celestia is going to fire me as her student, then banish me to the Griffon Kingdom!"

"Hey, maybe _she's _the pony who beat you up!" Pinkie suggested.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Twilight said. "Even though I _did _tell her to go to Tartarus..."

"You said _that _to the_ Princess?_" Pinkie Pie asked. "Wow! How did she react?"

"I don't want to talk about it..." Twilight moaned.

"That's okay," Applejack said. "We don't need to hear about the fight. But where'd you go after that? By the time we all came to your house to check up on you, you were gone."

"Well...I went out to fly," Twilight said. "Flying helps clear my mind, you know? I flew over the Everfree Forest and...uh...I don't remember anything after that."

"You think maybe a monster attacked her?" Applejack asked the nurse.

"Maybe," Nurse Sweetheart said. "The forest can be dangerous at night. You're lucky you managed to escape with your life."

The nurse put a rag to Twilight's forehead, causing a fresh shockwave of pain to emerge. It felt like somepony was drilling a hole into her forehead.

_"Augh!" _Twilight shouted, pushing the nurse away. "Don't touch my horn!"

"Your...horn?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes! My horn!" Twilight said. Her eyes flashed red. "Keep your filthy hooves off of it!"

The nurse looked worriedly at Twilight. Nopony said anything until Applejack pointed out the obvious. "Twi, you ain't a unicorn."

"I...I...right," Twilight said, slowly deflating as her eyes turned back to their normal color. "I'm...a pegasus. Sorry about that, I just...huh."

"You need more sleep," Nurse Sweetheart decided. "Your eyes are positively bloodshot."

"Right," Twilight said, closing her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell..."

_Where did that come from? _Twilight wondered. _For a second there, it felt like she was hurting my horn._

_But I don't have a horn..._

A sharp pain came on Twilight's chest. She put a hoof to it, only to find that her hoof bumped up against something metallic.

"What's this?" Twilight asked, looking down at the thing around her neck.

"We're not sure," Nurse Sweetheart said. "We tried removing it yesterday, but we couldn't. It seems to be enchanted with an anti-theft spell."

"Hmmm..." Twilight said. She reached behind her head and undid the clasp holding the item in place. She held it in front of her face. It was a black necklace, with a red jewel in the center. Sticking out of the top was a pony with wings and a horn.

"It looks like an alicorn!" Pinkie said. "Was it a gift from the Princess?"

"I..." Twilight said. A few more memories fell into place, as she gazed at the alicorn amulet. Her eyes went wide, as she remembered that she met and talked with Nightmare Moon.

"Are you okay?" Applejack asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Twilight said. "I spaced out for a moment, there. Anyway, yes. This is the Alicorn Amulet. The Princess gave it to me." _Just not the Princess you're thinking of._

"Oooo, what's it do?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Nothing. It just looks pretty," Twilight lied. "Anyway, I should probably get some rest. My body hurts like crazy."

"Right, we'll let you sleep," Applejack said.

"We'll be back real soon, okay?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight waved to her friends as they left the hospital room. After making sure Twilight finished drinking her water, Nurse Sweetheart left, too.

Twilight was left to herself, trying to make sense of things. No matter what she did, she could not remember a single thing that happened after she spoke with Nightmare Moon. It was as if somepony had put a magical block on her memories, partway through their conversation.

_Did Nightmare Moon give me the Alicorn Amulet? I guess she must have. How else would I have it?_

_Can it really turn me into a unicorn? What if Nightmare Moon was lying?_

Pain came from Twilight's sore forehead again. She wondered if, just maybe, the pain was because a unicorn horn was starting to grow.

_I guess there's only one way to know if it works. She said all I have to do is wear it for two days to become a unicorn._

_And we need a unicorn to be the Element of Magic..._

Twilight put the alicorn amulet back on herself. Her eyes glowed red for a moment. Then she rested her head on the pillow and tried to go back to sleep, her mind full of disturbed thoughts.

* * *

Around the same time Twilight woke up in the hospital, two fillies went inside the Golden Oaks Library. Neither of them noticed that they were the only ponies there.

"See?" Scootaloo said, pointing at the display case. "Those are the Cutie Mark Finders!"

"Let me see!" Sweetie Belle said, pushing past her best friend. "Ooo, they're pretty! That one looks just like Rarity's cutie mark!"

"It _is _her cutie mark," Scootaloo said. "She helped us get them. The other two are Pinkie Pie and Apple...Apple...whatever Apple Bloom's big sister is called."

Sweetie Belle took the glass off of the display case. "And nopony has used these two yet, right?" she asked.

"Right," Scootaloo said. "We just gotta open them to get _our _cutie mark necklaces."

The two fillies both took one of gray orbs. For a while, they tried smashing them open with their hooves, then smashing them against each other. Nothing worked, until Scootaloo had an idea.

"The balcony!" she said. "Twilight's got a balcony upstairs! We can drop them off of there!"

"Great!" Sweetie Belle said.

With some effort, they carried the gray orbs upstairs and to the second-story balcony. They pushed the orbs over the edge of the platform, and the orbs broke into pieces when they fell to the ground. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle excitedly ran down the stairs and outside to see what the results would be, but they were sadly disappointed.

"There was nothing inside of them!" Sweetie Belle said. "They were just big rocks!"

"That's impossible!" Scootaloo said. "My dream said they had our cutie marks inside!"

"You listened to a_ dream?_" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well...it was a very realistic dream," Scootaloo defended herself.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "Come on," she said. "Let's try getting our cutie marks some other way."

* * *

In Canterlot, Prince Blueblood was very upset. To be sure, he _always _was upset, whenever his schedule of sleeping until noon was disturbed. But today, he was practically seething with rage. After the indignity of being attacked, tattooed and hung to dry like a piece of laundry, he was now being forced to wait for something.

Wait for something! He was a _Prince! _He deserved whatever he wanted, as soon as he wanted it! That was his prerogative, as the great-great-great-grandson of Prince Bluebill! How could anypony have a more noble pedigree than _him?_

Blueblood was making a mental list of ponies he wanted to fire and/or banish—a favorite pastime of his—when the door to the waiting room finally opened, and Captain Whitewings of the Royal Guard stepped inside.

"About _time _you showed up!" Prince Blueblood said. "I've been waiting for nearly twenty minutes!"

"There have been a lot of vandalism complaints today," Captain Whitewings said. "You're the seventh—is that a pink headband?"

Blueblood adjusted the headband which was covering up his new tattoo. "It was the only color they had available," Blueblood said. "That's not important right now. What matters is that I was brutally attacked last night!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got the report about somepony breaking into your apartment," the captain said. He pulled out a copy of the report and put it on a nearby table. "We're already looking into it. Unless you have a new statement to make about what happened, I don't see how you can help things."

"I want the perpetrator arrested immediately!" Blueblood said. "Throw her in the dungeons for daring to besmirch the royal visage!"

"Pretty fancy talk," Captain Whitewings said. He flipped through the report. "But we can't arrest somepony if we don't know who did it. All the eyewitnesses could tell us is that it was a pegasus with a purple coat."

"That's more than enough information," Prince Blueblood said. "There's only one purple pegasus with a grudge against me: Princess Celestia's pet prodigy, Twilight Sparkle."

In reality, Blueblood never saw his attacker, and he had no idea who it was. But he didn't care a bit about falsely accusing another pony, and Twilight made a convenient scapegoat.

_That'll teach the little ice queen not to put out for me,_ Blueblood thought smugly.


	13. In the Hospital

Needless to say, Nightmare Moon lied when she said the alicorn amulet was designed to turn a pegasus into a unicorn. The amulet's main purpose was to increase a unicorn's magical power, by amplifying their innate magic. Many unicorns would love to have a charm which made their magic more effective, but the increased magic came at a high price. The dark magic which allowed the alicorn amulet to work corrupted the mind of its wearer, slowly turning them evil, irrational, or both.

When Twilight first put on the amulet, the dark power that had been building up for decades overwhelmed her. In general, Twilight was a good pony, but her heart was not pure enough to overcome the alicorn amulet's corrosive influence. Twilight would never admit it out loud, but the betrayal and rejection she had experienced caused a small part of her to develop an urge for revenge. The evil in the amulet happily seized upon this, her darkest desire, and brought it to life in an out-of-body experience that Twilight would never remember.

The good news, if you can call it that, was that Twilight's body had begun to adjust to the alicorn amulet. Her conscious mind once again reasserted control of herself. While the evil occasionally broke through small cracks in her behavior, most of the time, Twilight was her normal, loveable self. She could once more do normal things, like send letters to Princess Celestia.

"And it will never, never, never, never, _never_ happen again," Twilight dictated. "Your sorrowful student, Twilight Sparkle."

"Hmmm..." Spike said, writing down Twilight's letter. "Was that four nevers, or five?"

"Better make it six," Twilight decided.

Spike finished the letter with a flourish, then used his flame breath to send the letter to Princess Celestia.

"Good," Twilight said. "Now what did you want to tell me?"

"Um..." Spike said. He reached into the satchel he had brought with him and pulled out a few things of paper. "The Princess sent three letters to you this morning."

"WHAT?" Twilight shouted. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I tried!" Spike said. "But you wouldn't let me say anything until you finished your apology letter!"

_"Insolent dragon whelp!"_ Twilight snapped, her eyes turning red. _"I will skin your hide and use it for clothing!"_

"What?" Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head. "I mean, just give me the letters, okay?" she asked.

The first letter was an apology from Celestia, for not telling Twilight the whole truth from the beginning. She reiterated the fact that she had _not_ been trying to manipulate Twilight in any way. Celestia explained that, while Twilight was in Ponyville, the Princess had been conducting her own search for a pony who could be the Element of Magic.

The letter ended on a hopeful note, suggesting that Trixie could be the Element of Magic. Celestia asked Twilight to befriend Trixie and introduce her to the other Elements.

The second letter was about Scootaloo. Celestia had gone through a few of the laws, and the situation was not ideal. No matter what happened, Prince Blueblood had the legal right to claim (or reject) Scootaloo as his daughter at any time, seeing as he had never been consulted when she originally put up for adoption.

Trixie, meanwhile, was not legally recognized as Scootaloo's mother. It would be possible, but somewhat difficult, for Trixie to regain full custody of her child. Scootaloo's birth certificate, showing that Trixie was her biological mother, would help speed the process along.

Princess Celestia recommended that Trixie apply to the orphanage, for the right to act as a temporary guardian for Scootaloo. That way, Scootaloo could stay with Trixie for up to five hours at a time (and overnight, with the prior permission of the orphanage's director).

A copy of the form which would allow Trixie to act _in loco parentis_ was included with the letter. Twilight looked it over, then borrowed a pen from Spike and added her own name to it. If Trixie could watch over Scootaloo, then so could she.

Princess Celestia's third letter was the most recent of the batch. It expressed her concern, upon hearing that Twilight had been hospitalized. She asked for details as soon as possible, and she promised to visit, if necessary.

_Oh, sure, she comes all the way to Ponyville when Trixie appears, but when I get sent to the hospital, suddenly Celestia is too busy to visit, _Twilight thought nastily. _She can take her fake concern and shove it up her..._

_No! Augh! What's wrong with me? Where are all these mean thoughts coming from?_

Twilight handed the second letter (and form) to Spike. "Here," she said. "The Princess wants you to pass these along to Trixie."

Spike tucked them into his bag. "I think I'll go visit her in person," he said. "I want to talk to her about hatching me from my egg."

Twilight wasn't sure what Spike meant by _in person_, but she let the remark pass. "I guess we should send a second letter to the Princess, updating her about my current condition," Twilight said. "Write this down, Spike. Dear Princess Celestia..."

* * *

All of Twilight's friends came to visit her in the hospital. Fluttershy agreed to look after Spike in her cottage, and Rainbow Dash agreed to continue Scootaloo's flying lessons. Remembering how helpful her two pegasus friends had been when Applejack's orchard needed harvesting, Twilight asked both of them to travel to the library and pick up the gray orbs in the display case. There was a good chance one of them was the Element of Kindness.

In fact, now that Twilight knew the Elements of Harmony orbs worked by touch, she felt rather foolish for spending all that time, trying to find the right ponies. It would have been so much simpler to have everypony in town line up to touch the orbs, and find the correct five ponies that way.

There was still the question of who the Element of Magic was, but Twilight had no doubts that wielding this Element was her destiny.

_I won't get out of here before Friday, at the earliest,_ Twilight thought. _And the Summer Sun Celebration is the Friday after this one. That gives me nine or so days to master my new unicorn powers._

_Won't Princess Celestia be surprised to find out that I'm the unicorn student she's been looking for? Not that stupid faker Trixie._

Earlier, Trixie stopped by the hospital to talk to Twilight. The conversation had not gone very well, even though it started with inoffensive business matters.

"Have you ever heard of the Elements of Harmony?" Twilight asked.

"No," Trixie said. "What are they, some sort of band?"

"No," Twilight said. "It's...well, it's kind of complicated, but it's what the Princess has asked me to study. Celestia thinks that you can complete the Elements."

Trixie nodded. "If you need help with your project, I'd be glad to lend a hoof," she said. "After all, I'm sure we'll see a lot of each other in the future. The Princess said we're _both_ going to be her students from now on!"

"...She didn't mention that to me," Twilight said. _Is she still keeping secrets?_

"She was probably too worried about the fact that you're in the hospital," Trixie said. "I was surprised to hear that. What happened to you?"

"I got attacked by a monster last night," Twilight said. "That's not important right now. The important thing is your cutie mark."

"My...cutie mark?" Trixie asked. She turned to look at it. It was a six-pointed star, surrounded by five smaller stars. "What about it?"

"I've been looking for a pony with a magic star for a cutie mark," Twilight said. "How did you get it?"

"Oh," Trixie said. She looked somewhat embarrassed. "Actually, it's not _really_ a magic star...I mean, it sort of has to deal with magic, but that's more of a coincidence."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Here, let me show you," Trixie said. "I probably shouldn't do this inside, but...well, this is what my cutie mark means."

Trixie reared up on her hind legs and cast her signature spell: a series of fireworks. They appeared in a circle around her body, making her look rather impressive.

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Your cutie mark represents _fireworks?_" she asked.

"Yes," Trixie said. "I got it, when I cast that spell for the first time. There was one big explosion in the middle, with five smaller ones surrounding it."

"So your cutie mark _doesn't_ mean that you're a magical genius?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I _am_ the Great and Powerful Trixie," Trixie said, putting her hoof on her chest. "But that's mostly just for show. Don't tell anypony, but the spells I use in my act are all very simple. They just _look _difficult."

"Right," Twilight said. "You didn't have time to study _real_ magic, because you dropped out of school to become a showmare."

Trixie wrinkled her nose, as she didn't like Twilight's tone of voice. "I became a travelling magician two years ago," she said. "I wanted to visit every town in Equestria, so I could find out what happened to my daughter."

Twilight's eyes started to burn. "Don't try to use that as an excuse," she said. "I've done more parenting for Scootaloo in the past two weeks than you've done in your entire _life_."

"Excuse me?" Trixie asked. "I love my daughter!"

"She's not your daughter!" Twilight said. "You gave her up, as soon as you possibly could!"

"That was the biggest mistake of my life," Trixie said. "I was sixteen, I had no money, I was scared of Blueblood and—"

"And you think you can get away with what you did, by pinning all of the blame on Blueblood!" Twilight said. "I hate him as much as the next pony, but I'm not buying it! You're just as guilty as he is! _Both _of you wanted to get rid of Scootaloo!"

"I didn't!" Trixie protested. "I _had_ to give her away, but I never in a million years _wanted_ her gone!"

"Oh, quit _lying!_" Twilight said. "You didn't _have _to give her away! You could have gone to Princess Celestia and gotten help at any moment! Instead, you turned your back on everypony and ran away from town!"

"I didn't want Celestia to know," Trixie said. "You saw how she reacted last night. She's ashamed of me."

"Ashamed that you're such a tramp?" Twilight asked. "Or ashamed that you threw your daughter away like a piece of garbage?"

Trixie's eyes narrowed, as she stared at Twilight's cold, red eyes. "I don't have to stay here and listen to you insult me all day," Trixie said. "I'm leaving."

"Good! Run away from your problems again!" Twilight said. "You know what? I think maybe it's a _good_ thing you gave Scootaloo away! If you had kept her, she might have grown up to be just like you!"

* * *

Twilight's evil behavior did not escape the notice of her concerned friends. After their second visit with Twilight, Cheerilee and Rarity consulted with Dr. Fren Allogee, a craniologist who had been brought to examine Twilight's skull.

"What's wrong with Twilight, Doctor Fren?" Rarity asked. "Her behavior keeps changing erratically. She switches between nice and nasty at the drop of a hat!"

"It's like the story of Dr. Buckall and Mr. Hyde," Cheerilee said. "Did Twilight develop multiple personalities?"

"My examination of Twilight was...inconclusive," Dr. Fren said.

"Inconclusive?" Rarity and Cheerilee asked.

"Twilight has developed localized amnesia, surrounding her near-death experience," the doctor said. "That can happen, after extremely traumatic events. But as things currently stand, I can't tell for certain whether her problems are physical or psychological."

"Why not?" Rarity asked. "I thought you were a head specialist."

"I am," Dr. Fren said. "I examined Twilight's skull carefully. She has three separate head wounds. The two on either side of her forehead are so severe that they only could have come from a creature pony-sized or larger."

"What about the third wound?" Cheerilee asked.

"That one is on the back of Twilight's head," Dr. Fren said. "Quite clearly, it came from somepony who was wearing a horseshoe at the time. The indentation is unmistakeable."

"But that would mean she had a hoof fight with another pony," Rarity said. "I can't picture Twilight doing something like that."

"Could it be that she fought a minotaur?" Cheerilee asked. "That's a monster which has hooves. Perhaps it was able to kick her in the head."

"That's certainly possible," the doctor allowed. "But I haven't gotten to the strangest part of my examination. The magical scan of her skull revealed a large concentration of magical power in her forehead."

"Magical power?" Rarity asked.

"It's gathering in a circle, at the base of her horn," Dr. Fren said. "Or at least, it's gathering where her horn _would _be, if she was a unicorn. I've never seen anything like it."

"Is that why she's having headaches?" Rarity asked.

"I believe so," Dr. Fren said. "It also appears to be giving her phantom limb pains, in her non-existent horn. It's almost like her body is convinced that she should be a unicorn, and it's trying to shove the magic out of her. I have no idea why this—"

"Dr. Fren, _there_ you are!" an angry voice said.

Cheerilee, Rarity and the doctor all turned around to see Prince Blueblood standing in the hallway, with guards on either side of him. His hair was combed low, over his forehead, and he was wearing a nasty expression, as if he'd rather be anywhere else than Ponyville.

"Prince Blueblood!" Rarity gasped, recognizing him instantly.

"I've been waiting for two minutes!" Prince Blueblood said. "Do you treat _all_ your patients this way? I should sue for malpractice!"

"My apologies, Your Highness," Dr. Fren said. "I was discussing Twilight Sparkle's condition with her friends."

Blueblood smirked, upon hearing Twilight's name. "Yes, I got your report," he said. "So she's faking insanity in order to avoid prison, eh? I always knew she was a filthy pegasus."

"Prison? Twilight?" Rarity gasped. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't know?" Blueblood asked. "A warrant has been issued for Twilight's arrest. She is accused of committing a number of crimes in Canterlot, on Monday night."

"Monday...that's the night she was hospitalized!" Rarity said.

"She was injured here in Ponyville," Cheerilee nodded. "So she couldn't have committed any crimes in Canterlot."

"There is no need to worry," Prince Blueblood said gallantly. "I will personally oversee the case and have her released if she is innocent."

Prince Blueblood smiled to himself. This was a trick he had done before, on two different occasions. First, he would arrest a pony under false pretenses. Then, he would blackmail the pony into doing whatever he wanted, in exchange for him dropping the charges. If Twilight was really innocent, Blueblood would get a new blackmail victim, and he'd come out of the affair looking like a paragon of justice. A win-win scenario.

Blueblood paused for a moment, so the two mares would have enough time to gush and fawn over him. He was slightly surprised to see them looking at him suspiciously. His hoof immediately went to his forehead and patted down his hair, ensuring that his tattoo was still covered.

"In any case, I am here to meet with Dr. Fren," Blueblood said. "It's a, uh, rather personal matter, so we'll need privacy. You ladies should move along."

* * *

Around the time this was happening, Twilight was talking with Scootaloo. The young filly brought out the good side of Twilight, and the two of them talked amicably.

"I can't believe you told Princess Celestia to go to Tartarus!" Scootaloo said. "That is _so cool! _You must be the bravest pony ever!"

"No, no, no," Twilight said. "It was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it. Promise me that you'll never say that to anypony."

"Even Diamond Tiara?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes, even her," Twilight said, in her best _responsible adult_ voice.

Scootaloo sighed. "I promise," she said. "But still, you're the best! I mean, if you didn't take me to that magic show, I wouldn't have found my mother again! Thank you _so much_ for that!"

"Scootaloo, about your mother..." Twilight said.

"Yes?" Scootaloo asked.

"She...she's..." Twilight said. She bit her lip, as she looked into Scootaloo's smiling face.

"What is it, Twilight?" Scootaloo asked.

The alicorn amulet flashed, as a nasty thought crossed Twilight's mind. _You need to stay away from your parents, because they are horrible ponies who won't hesitate to break your heart_.

With some effort, Twilight suppressed the urge to slander Scootaloo's parents. "You...you know that it doesn't matter who you're related to, right?" Twilight asked.

"Uh huh," Scootaloo said. "That's what they teach us at the orphanage. My _real_ family is the ponies who I care about, like Miss Cheerilee and Sweetie Belle and you."

"Me?" Twilight asked.

Scootaloo drew back slightly. "You've been so nice to me," she said. "You've been teaching me how to fly and watching me after school. I like being under your wing, and I was kind of hoping...you could be like my big sister, or...something."

"You want _me_ to be your pegasus mentor?" Twilight asked. "But what about Rainbow Dash?"

"She's always too busy to do things with me," Scootaloo said. "I mean, she's super-cool and everything, but...I dunno, it feels likes I can count on you more than her."

"Well..." Twilight said. "Yes. _Yes!_ Of _course_ I'll be your big sister! I've always wanted another pegasus in the family!"

"REALLY?" Scootaloo asked. She jumped up next to the bed and tried to wrap her arms around Twilight.

"You're going to be the best little sister ever," Twilight said, giving Scootaloo a hug. "You know, my brother and I have a best friends song. We should make one for you."

Scootaloo paled a bit. "Having a sister means you have to _sing?_" she asked.

Twilight laughed. "Not necessarily," she said. "My big brother song goes like this:

_My big brother,  
Best friends forever,  
Like two peas in a pod, we will always be together.  
He's never very far away,  
And he will always stay..._

Twilight paused. "Oh," she said. "I guess I need to update the lyrics, now that we don't live with our parents anymore. Anyway, you get the idea."

"I guess so..." Scootaloo said. She opened her mouth and sang:

_My big sister  
She's um...mister?  
Like two wings on a bird, we will always be...heard?  
Big sister Twiliiiiight  
Goes to sleep at niiiiiight..._

"Okay, the first thing I'm going to teach you is how to sing," Twilight said.

She and Scootaloo burst into a fit of giggles. It was a sweet and happy moment, the last one Twilight Sparkle would have for quite some time. The happiness ended no less than five minutes later, when Prince Blueblood entered the room with his guards.

"Hello, there," Prince Blueblood said. "Long time no see."


	14. Arrested

Scootaloo was happy to be reunited with her mother, and she was overjoyed when Twilight Sparkle agreed to be her big sister. In Scootaloo's mind, the only thing she needed to complete her family picture was her father's return.

It was probably for the best that Scootaloo had no idea that she was currently looking at her father.

"Hello, Twilight," Prince Blueblood said. "Long time no see."

_"Blueblood!"_ Twilight said. Her eyes immediately turned red. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Is that any way to treat your ex-coltfriend?" Blueblood asked. "I have come to collect my due."

"No!" Twilight shouted. She pushed Scootaloo backwards and jumped out of the hospital bed. Using her body to shield Scootaloo, Twilight glared at Blueblood and said, "I won't let you take her."

Blueblood was confused. "Take who? This child here?"

"I won't let you!" Twilight said. "Scootaloo is my sister, and I love—love?" Twilight's voice cracked, upon saying the word "love", and her right eye turned back to its normal color. She shook her head, as the alicorn amulet reasserted control over her.

"No, there's no such thing as love! Not from _you!_" Twilight shouted.

"Dear Celestia, you really _are _insane," Blueblood said. "I thought you were just faking it."

Twilight's eyes darted left and right. "I'm not afraid of you or your stupid guards," she said. "I beat them up two days ago. I can do it again."

"Is that...a_ confession?_" Blueblood asked.

"Yeah, I'm the pony who attacked you," Twilight said. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat, you pompous [bad word]."

Twilight leaped forward and punched Blueblood in the face. His muzzle started bleeding, and he let out a girly cry of pain. There was a minor scuffle, as the two guards seized upon Twilight and restrained her.

"To the dungeons!" Blueblood shouted. "I demand she be imprisoned at once! This maniac cannot be allowed to fly free!"

"No!" Scootaloo cried, jumping forward. "You can't arrest her! She's my big sister!"

"Scootaloo, stay back!" Twilight cried.

Blueblood looked down at the filly that Twilight had been trying to protect. The strangest feeling overtook Blueblood, and for two seconds, he wondered if he knew this child from somewhere.

"Why should _I_ care what _you_ think?" Prince Blueblood said at last. "Your sister is a menace to society, Little Sparkle. If you interfere with her arrest, I'll have you thrown in the dungeons with her."

Scootaloo slunk backwards at this.

"That's better," Blueblood said. "I am a Prince, and you must obey me as such."

"Stay away from him!" Twilight shouted. "He's evil! EVIL!"

"At least _I_ don't punch innocent stallions," Blueblood scoffed. "Take her away."

* * *

Prince Blueblood did not care much for the Equestrian legal system. He treated laws the same way he treated other ponies, which is to say that he ignored and disdained them, unless they could be useful to him in some way. As mentioned before, the only law that Blueblood honestly appreciated was the one that made him a prince, as the last descendant of Prince Bluebill.

Blueblood's dislike for the legal system greatly increased, when he learned that it would take about a week to prepare a trial against Twilight Sparkle. He was not a patient pony, so he decided to bend the laws and declare the situation as a royal emergency. This let him completely bypass the normal legal system, and two hours later, Twilight was brought before the quickest-moving legal authority in all of Equestria: the honorable Judge Railroad.

The initial hearing was swift and to the point. It was not difficult to determine the guilt in this case, because Twilight repeatedly confessed to attacking Blueblood, coupled with threats to attack him again. Judge Railroad said it would be possible to move ahead without a full trial, because Twilight was clearly responsible for all the crimes committed.

Blueblood had a fleeting moment of triumph, before Judge Railroad continued. "It is my opinion, however, that Twilight Sparkle is not guilty, by reason of insanity," she said. "I request that she be sent to Friedrich Nutsy Mental Hospital, to undergo a thorough psychological examination."

Judge Railroad slammed his gavel on the pad before him. "The results of this examination must be given to me, by the end of the month," he said. "At that time, I shall decide whether we need to move forward with a trial."

Blueblood was not happy with the verdict, but Judge Railroad refused to change it. Eventually, Blueblood shrugged it off. There was little difference between life in prison and life in a nuthouse. Either way, nopony would ever see Twilight Sparkle again.

* * *

Later that day, two Earth ponies walked side-by-side as they headed towards the Ponyville Library.

"This is the third emergency letter we've gotten in a week," Applejack complained. "Twilight's a good friend, but she makes things a mite too hectic for me."

"I couldn't agree more," Cheerilee said. "We both have full-time jobs, after all. We can't always stop what we're doing to come help her."

"It'd help if she said _what_ the emergency was," Applejack said. "That way we'd know if it was a real emergency, or something that could wait a while."

"Yes, 'Come to the library immediately' isn't much to go on," Cheerilee said. "What do you think happened now?"

"Maybe they figured out what monster attacked Twilight, and we gotta use the Harmony thingamabobbers to stop it," Applejack suggested.

"Hmmm..." Cheerilee said. "That's possible, but...isn't Twilight still in the hospital? Why are we meeting in the library?"

"I dunno," Applejack said. "Guess we'll find out."

Cheerilee and Applejack continued chatting as they walked through the darkening streets. Topics ranged from Applebloom's performance in school, Cheerilee's plans to give a lesson about cutie marks, and Big Macintosh's social life. Applejack wasn't sure how that last topic came up, but Cheerilee seemed rather interested in it.

When they arrived at the library, the other Elements of Harmony were already there. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were there, too; they had insisted on helping their pegasus friend.

"Good, we can begin," a blue unicorn with a purple hat said. She cleared her throat, then spoke loudly to get the attention of all. "Hello, everypony. For those of you who don't know me, I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, stage magician and personal student of Princess Celestia."

"That's my mom," Scootaloo told Cheerilee.

"Yes, I know," Cheerilee said. After hearing Scootaloo talk so much about her mother in school, it was nice for Cheerilee to finally meet the mare in question.

"Your _mom? Her?_" Rainbow Dash asked. "I thought you didn't have—I mean, I thought you—"

"I asked you all to come here, for a few reasons," Trixie said. "First, you all should know that Twilight Sparkle has been arrested for multiple crimes committed in Canterlot."

The ponies who didn't know this let out various exclamations of surprise and shock. Rarity fell onto a nearby sofa.

"Princess Celestia overturned the sentence immediately, but Twilight won't be let out of the insane asylum until tomorrow morning," Trixie said.

"An insane asylum?" Rarity gasped. "But Twilight isn't crazy! She's perfectly..." Rarity halted, remembering Twilight's odd behavior in the past two days.

"Yeah, compared to me, Twilight is totally _not crazy!_" Pinkie Pie said.

"In the meantime, I've been asked to assume all of Twilight's duties, just in case something goes wrong," Trixie said. "So I'll be running the library and the Summer Sun Celebration. But more importantly, the Princess says that you all have been working with Twilight on the Elements of Harmony project."

"Ele-what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Trixie levitated the library's copy of The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide onto a table near Rainbow Dash. "The Elements of Harmony," Trixie said. "They're magical artifacts that can be used to defeat Nightmare Moon."

"Nightmare Moon?" Fluttershy asked, scared. "You mean, _the_ Nightmare Moon? The evil creepy alicorn that makes ponies dress up in scary costumes and then _eats them alive _Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes, that Nightmare Moon," Trixie said.

"Well, it's been really nice talking to you, but I _really_ have to get going, and BYE!" Fluttershy said quickly. She tried to run out the door, but Applejack tackled her.

"Come on, Fluttershy, this is important," Applejack said. "If you don't help, the world will fall under eternal darkness."

"But I'm scared of Nightmare Moon!" Fluttershy said. "Ask anypony! I'm not even brave enough to leave my house on Nightmare Night!"

"Princess Celestia will be there to help us," Trixie said. "She'll protect you if anything goes wrong."

"The...Princess Celestia?" Fluttershy asked. She let out a sigh of relief. "Why didn't you say that? She's nice, and _not_ evil and scary."

"I don't know everything yet, but we have half of the Elements," Trixie said, gesturing to the display case. "We need the final three to finish the set. I volunteered to be the Element of Magic, but that still leaves...um..."

"Honesty and Kindness," Spike said.

"Right," Trixie said. "So, who wants to volunteer for honesty or kindness? We've got four ponies here without Elements."

"I tried touching one of the orbs to get an element," Cheerilee said. "It didn't work." Under her breath, she added "thankfully".

"Me neither," Scootaloo said.

"Oh," Trixie said. "Then I guess that leaves the two pegasi. Which one of you is more honest?"

Rainbow Dash flipped through the book in front of her. "Um...when exactly is all this happening again?" she asked.

"Nightmare Moon returns during the Summer Sun Celebration," Trixie said.

"I guess I can go two weeks without telling any lies," Rainbow Dash said. "And Fluttershy here would be a great Element of Kindness."

"Oh no no no no no!" Fluttershy said. "I'm not kind at all! I'm mean! Really, really mean! I do nasty things all the time!"

"Like what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Like...um...um...like this!" Fluttershy said. She walked to Pinkie Pie and tried to talk in a tough voice. "Hey, Pinkie! Since you're a baker, would you like a Hertz Donut?"

"I love donuts!" Pinkie said. "...But what's a Hertz Donut?"

"It's _this!_" Fluttershy said. She threw a weak punch at Pinkie's side. "It _hurts, don't it?_"

Pinkie Pie burst into fits of laughter, and Fluttershy brought her hooves to her mouth in worry. "Oh, dear, I didn't hurt you for real, did I?" she asked. "I'm so sorry!"

"What was the yellow one's name again?" Trixie asked Spike.

"Fluttershy," Spike said.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Fluttershy," Trixie said. "But we could really use your help. We need a kind pony to stop Nightmare Moon."

"Besides, if you don't do it, it'll be Nightmare Night forever!" Scootaloo said.

_"Nightmare Night forever?"_ Fluttershy gasped. "But I—that's even worse—I—I—you're _sure_ Princess Celestia will be there?"

"We can't have the Summer Sun Celebration without her," Trixie said. "She won't let anything bad happen."

"...Okay," Fluttershy said. "I'll do it...only if I get to stand in the back."

* * *

When the meeting in the library was over, some of the ponies went home, and others stayed behind. Rainbow Dash questioned Trixie about Scootaloo—"Aren't you a little _young_ to have a full-grown filly? And besides, how does a unicorn have a pegasus daughter?"—while Rarity went over to talk to Spike.

"Huh...hi," Spike said.

"Hello, Spike," Rarity said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "I have a problem, and I was hoping you could help."

"I'd love to!" Spike said, little hearts appearing in his eyes.

"This entire situation is horrid," Rarity said. "And I'm afraid that it's left me feeling lost and worried. I'd appreciate it if I could get some comfort from a loving colt."

"I would be _more_ than happy to do that for you," Spike said.

"Great!" Rarity said, clapping her hooves together. "I have my letter to Shining Armor all prepared!"

"I...wha?" Spike asked.

"My letter to Shining Armor," Rarity said. "I need you to send it to him. He should know what happened to his sister, after all."

"I—but I thought you meant—I—" Spike sighed. "Sure, I'll send it."

"You're such a sweetheart, Spikey Wikey," Rarity said, rubbing the top of Spike's head.

Spike wrote down the letter that Rarity dictated, then sent it using his fire breath. She thanked him again, then hummed to herself as she left the Golden Oaks Library. Spike watched her go, with a forlorn look on his face. He might have stayed that way for several minutes, had not a pink face suddenly appeared two inches away from his.

_"Hello!"_ Pinkie Pie said.

"Augh!" Spike said, jumping backwards. "Don't pop out of nowhere like that!"

"So, when are we going on a date?" Pinkie Pie said. "I was thinking we could visit the Ponyville Clock Tower!"

"D-date?" Spike asked.

Pinkie Pie pouted. "You said you'd date me if Rarity turned you down!" she said. "And you just helped her send a letter to her coltfriend, Lover Boy!"

"I never agreed to that!" Spike protested. "And besides, he's not her coltfriend! He's just some random colt she doesn't even know that well!"

"But Spiiike!" Pinkie said, jumping up and down. "You _have_ to be my coltfriend! My family is thinking about visiting for the Summer Sun Celebration, and that'd be the best prank ever! Can you imagine the look on my dad's face when he learns I'm engaged to a dragon?"

Spike scratched his head. "Wait, you want to date me as a joke?"

Pinkie giggled. "Of _course_ it's a joke!" she said. "I mean, you're nice and all, but I'm over twice your age! That's probably why Rarity turned you down. You're not even out of elementary school yet! You're only good as a fake coltfriend, not a real one."

Spike groaned. "Love stinks," he said.

* * *

Up in the sky, Nightmare Moon was getting annoyed over what was happening on Earth. During her exile, she had spent centuries, coming up with intricate evil plots to defeat Celestia and conquer the world. Her current plan was pure genius: turn Twilight Sparkle evil with the Alicorn Amulet, then win her loyalty by turning her into a unicorn.

_It would have been so amusing to see Princess Celestia killed by her own student_, Nightmare Moon thought.

But was this ultimate evil strategy bearing fruit? No! So far, all of Nightmare Moon's complicated plans were being completely usurped by the simple, backup plans!

Send Trixie to Ponyville and watch the resulting explosions.

Send Blueblood to Ponyville and watch the resulting explosions.

Honestly. You didn't need an evil genius to come up with those plans. An evil seven-year-old would have done just as well. It was a complete waste of Nightmare Moon's intelligence and planning.

Convincing Blueblood to go to Ponyville had been ridiculously simple. Any smart pony would have questioned the logic of seeing a doctor to get a tattoo removed, but not Prince Blueblood! He never questioned any idea that popped into his mind. After the dream was over, he instantly made it a priority to see the doctor at the same hospital as Twilight.

_He's easy to manipulate, and he's dead set against Twilight and Celestia,_ Nightmare Moon thought. _Prince Blueblood is playing right into my hooves, and he doesn't even know it._

Now Twilight Sparkle was in an insane asylum, locked in a room by herself. Nightmare Moon tried visiting Twilight's dreams that night, but it was pointless. Twilight was in no condition to talk to anypony at the moment; her physical injuries and emotional stress had pushed her over the edge. Her mind was so feverish that she honestly _could _be mistaken for a madpony. All she could do was think of was pain and suffering and revenge.

Nightmare Moon decided to turn her attention to Prince Blueblood. The pompous fool was probably in his chambers with a mare, and...

Nightmare Moon started a bit, when she found Blueblood in an unexpected place. _What is he doing in prison? _she wondered.

* * *

Prince Blueblood was woken up the next morning, when the door to his cell was opened with a loud rattling. He yawned, then glared at the guard.

"Is that it?" he asked. "Am I finally being released?"

The guard nodded. "You're free to go home now. Princess Celestia only ordered us to keep you overnight."

Blueblood rolled his eyes. He knew she wouldn't have the nerve to give him a _real _punishment. She was far too kind-hearted.

When she learned about Twilight's trial, Princess Celestia was angrier than Blueblood had ever seen her before. She gave him a furious lecture, about abusing royal powers and imprisoning innocent ponies and other boring things that Blueblood didn't really pay attention to.

"I have been lenient with you, because we are, in a sense, family," Princess Celestia had said. "But the time of leniency is over. You need to learn the consequences of your actions, and the best way to do that is to give you a taste of your own medicine."

So she had Blueblood arrested for declaring a false state of emergency. Bleublood thought the whole thing was completely ridiculous. Spending a night in holding did not "teach him a lesson", as Celestia had put it. All it did was bore him.

On his way out of the Royal Guard Station, Blueblood was stopped by one of the guards. In general, Blueblood had a hard time telling the guards apart from each other—they all looked the same—but he knew this one on a first-name basis.

"Hold it," the guard said. "I want to talk to you."

"Ah, Shoe Armor," Blueblood said. "I've been expecting a lecture from you."

"It's _Shining_ Armor," Shining said. "And what you did to my sister was unforgiveable. I'm going to—"

"Yes, yes, I remember," Blueblood interrupted. "You went through this song and dance when I dumped her. Do you honestly think I'm impressed by your concerned big brother act?"

"I'm not acting! She's in a mental hospital, thanks to you!" Shining Armor said.

"And _she's _not acting! She's completely crazy!" Blueblood said. "If you're such a _concerned_ family member, why didn't you notice that earlier?"

"Don't you say that!" Shining Armor said. "I love Twilight! Unlike you, I don't abandon my family!"

"Abandon my family? What nonsense are you talking about now?" Blueblood asked.

"Gee, I dunno," Shining Armor said. "What about your wife and daughter? When I saw them, they looked pretty homeless to me!"

"You're as crazy as your sister," Blueblood said. "I don't have a wife or daughter."

"That's not what she said," Shining Armor said. "What was her name...Trixie? Yeah, that was it. She says you're the father of her child."

Blueblood scoffed. Where had Shining Armor drudged up _that_ old name? Blueblood hadn't seen Trixie Lulamoon in years, not since she got pregnant and...

Shining Armor felt great satisfaction in seeing Blueblood's eyes go wide with fear.


	15. Changes

Princess Celestia was eating a hearty breakfast of hay and oats, when Blueblood's arrival was announced. Celestia got out of her chair to meet him by the door to the dining room.

"Hello, Nephew," Princess Celestia said kindly. "I see you got my message. Would you care for some food?"

"I am not hungry," Blueblood said. He let out a theatrical groan and sat down. "Can we get this over with?"

"Get what over with?" Celestia asked.

"The huge lecture that you're obviously planning on giving me," Blueblood said. "Why else would you ask me to see you, the instant I got out of jail?"

"I wanted to see how you are doing, after last night," Celestia said. "I hope you had plenty of time to think things over."

"It's too late for fake concern," Blueblood said. "If you really cared for me, you wouldn't have thrown me in jail for no good reason!"

Celestia frowned. She hadn't expected to completely reform Blueblood overnight, but she had been hoping for at least a _little_ change in his behavior.

"I understand if you are upset," Princess Celestia said. "But just imagine how Twilight Sparkle feels. You were locked up for a night, but she will be locked up for the rest of her life, unless you—"

"Twilight is guilty!" Blueblood said. "She even confessed to attacking me! What more do you want?"

"She has an alibi," Princess Celestia said. "At least five ponies, including myself, saw her in Ponyville on the night in question. Please, Blueblood, be reasonable."

"I _am_ reasonable," Prince Blueblood said. "Whoever tattooed...that word on my forehead should be punished. Twilight is the only suspect, and so it is perfectly reasonable to punish her."

"That is untrue," Celestia said. "Nopony should be punished for a crime, before they are proven guilty. There is plenty of evidence to prove Twilight's innocence."

"Does it really matter at this point?" Blueblood asked. "I heard that you gave the order for her to be released."

"I have not," Celestia said, rearing backwards a little. "I have decided to wait."

Blueblood was surprised at this. "Wait for what?" he asked.

"For _you_ to give the order to release her," Celestia said. "Put yourself in her horseshoes. How would you like it if—"

_"Ugggggh,"_ Prince Blueblood groaned. "I don't _care _what you have to say! I will do everything in my power to make sure that she suffers for what she did to me! Even if she didn't attack me last week, she punched me in the nose yesterday! That's good enough for me!"

"She punched you in the nose?" Celestia asked.

"Yes!" Blueblood said. He touched his nose delicately. "...I even started bleeding a bit. It really hurt."

"I'm sorry you were injured," Celestia said. "But you can't make things right by injuring others."

"But...my nose!" Blueblood whined. "It hurt!"

"Would you like a hug?" Princess Celestia offered. "Maybe that will help you feel better."

"I am not four years—hey!" Blueblood said, as Princess Celestia swept him up in a large hug. His indignation was instantly washed away, as the warm sensation overtook him, and he was reminded of his mother's hugs. He opened his mouth to say something, and he got a mouthful of Celestia's flowing teal mane.

"Auck! Gauck!" Blueblood said, trying to push himself away. "Your hair is—ugh!"

Celestia rolled her eyes, and she used her magic to push Blueblood away to a safe distance.

"Th...thanks," Blueblood said, breathing through his mouth. "Your mane got stuck in my mouth, and...how do you keep it flowing like that all the time? There's no wind in this room!"

"Alicorn magic," Princess Celestia said simply.

"Of course," Blueblood muttered. "In any case, can we...not talk about Twilight Sparkle anymore?" For some reason, he no longer felt like fighting with Princess Celestia.

"As you wish," Celestia said graciously.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle could have used an alicorn hug at that moment. She had been wearing the Alicorn Amulet for forty-seven consecutive hours, and it was taking a heavy toll on her body.

She collapsed onto the floor, after a hearty round of screaming. She couldn't take the pain anymore. Her forehead felt like it was going to explode.

The Alicorn Amulet was building up magical power inside Twilight's forehead, as it normally did with every unicorn that wore it. The problem was that the magic had nowhere to go. It pushed forward, to her skull, and backwards into her brain, intent on being released.

"Why is this happening to me?" Twilight screamed. "WHY?"

She sobbed on the ground for a while, until she heard soft hoofsteps approaching. "Twilight," a voice said. "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon."

Twilight looked at the hoof in front of her, which was clad in a dark gray shoe. She clutched the pony's leg tightly, in hopes of alleviating her pain. "What will be over soon?" Twilight asked.

"Your transformation into a unicorn," the pony said. "Soon...you will be me."

Confused, Twilight tilted her head upwards. A familiar-looking purple pony stared down at her. She was the mirror image of Twilight, except with slightly longer hair and a horn sticking out of her head.

Twilight picked herself off of the floor. "N-no!" she said. "You—you're me! You're Unicorn Twilight!"

"Yes," Unicorn Twilight said. "I know growing a horn is painful, but this is the only way you can achieve your destiny."

Twilight placed a hoof against her forehead, and she could feel a small bump. "My destiny?" she asked.

"Yes," Unicorn Twilight said. "You were always meant to be a unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. Your magical power is...unique. In time, you could become the most powerful unicorn ever."

"I...ow...really?"

"Yes," Unicorn Twilight said. "Then you can take revenge on all the ponies who looked down on you for being a pegasus. Blueblood, Trixie, Celestia...you will crush them underhoof and lead the way for Nightmare Moon's glorious reign as Queen of the Night!"

"Aaaaa!" Twilight cried. "I don't—this is too much—make it stop!"

"You can't stop it!" Unicorn Twilight said, her eyes glowing red. "The Alicorn Amulet will make you into me! We will rule the world, as Queen and Servant! We will—!"

Twilight ripped off the Alicorn Amulet and threw it on the ground. Unicorn Twilight instantly faded into purple-and-red smoke, and she was slowly sucked into the jewel on the front of the amulet.

"Nooooo!" she cried. "It is too late! You...cannot..."

There was silence for a moment, then Twilight stomped on the Alicorn Amulet for good measure. As she heard it crack, she felt instant relief.

"So _that's_ what was hurting me," Twilight said to herself. "Lesson learned. Never accept ancient artifacts from evil—"

A huge column of smoke burst from the cracked crystal. It circled the room, then flew right at Twilight.

"AAAAAAAA!" she screamed.

* * *

Princess Celestia's conversation with her honorary nephew was heading towards a friendly direction, until he brought up a particular pony.

"My old student?" Princess Celestia asked. "Which one? Sunset Shimmer?"

"No, Trixie Lulamoon," Blueblood said. "Do you know where she is? I need to see her immediately."

"Why do you need to see her?" Celestia asked carefully.

"There's a rumor that she...has a daughter," Blueblood said. "I want to make sure it's not true."

Celestia bowed her head, as she tried to think of a delicate way to put things. "Trixie claims to be the mother of a filly named Scootaloo."

Blueblood's face instantly fell. "_What_ was that name?"

"Scootaloo," Celestia said.

"Please tell me that is one of your bad jokes," Blueblood said. "That _cannot_ be my daughter's name."

"We don't know for certain who Scootaloo's parents are," Celestia said. "She grew up in an orphanage, without a birth certificate."

"So maybe Trixie is lying, just to get money out of me," Blueblood said. "Yes, that makes sense. But why hasn't she come to me about it, then? Unless she...no, it _must_ be true. Right before she left, she was pregnant with my child."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Celestia said. "Without a paternity and maternity test, we don't know—"

"Forget that!" Blueblood said. "I am going there right now, and retrieving my daughter from that blue bit-chaser! Bluebelle is _my_ daughter, not Trixie's!"

"Bluebelle?" Celestia asked.

"I am going to have her name changed, first chance I get," Blueblood said. "No, first, I need to get custody away from Trixie! I'll have her thrown into the same jail cell as Twilight Sparkle!"

Celestia frowned. For a moment there, it seemed like Blueblood could be making progress, but now, he was back on the subject of imprisoning Celestia's students. She could not allow that to happen, but what was the alternative? Separating a child from her parents?

"I..." Celestia said. "I believe a trip to Ponyville is in order. You should meet Scootaloo, before you make any plans."

Blueblood took a deep breath. "...Yes," he said. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll go there after my appointment at the, er, tattoo parlor."

"I'm busy all day until 1:00," Celestia said. "We can leave together." _Somehow, I think it's best if I'm there to act as a buffer for Blueblood._

"Excellent," Blueblood said. "I promise to return by then."

* * *

Blueblood soon broke his promise, and he left early for Ponyville. Cursing her honorary nephew, Celestia took off for Ponyville immediately. As the four pegasi guards drew her in a golden chariot, the Princess of the Sun considered her options.

_Perhaps this is a good thing. Being a father could cause Blueblood to turn his life around and become a better pony. On the other hoof, it could cause him to become a worse pony. And what if he raises Scootaloo to act just like him? It'd be like having two Bluebloods around._

The plan had been to land near City Hall, but as the passed over Town Square, Celestia noticed that there was a sizeable crowd gathered below. In the middle of it, creating a scene, was Blueblood.

_So much for keeping a low profile..._ Celestia thought. She ordered two of her guards to take the chariot to City Hall, and she ordered the other two guards to come with her. Celestia jumped out of the chariot, spread her wings, and flew down to ground level.

For a moment, Celestia surveyed the scene. A crowd of schoolchildren were gathered around a purple pony that Celestia recognized as Cheerilee. All the children were chatting excitedly, except for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who were standing by themselves at a distance.

"I can't believe it," Diamond Tiara said. "I finally get my cutie mark, and Scootaloo upstages me with a huge disaster."

"She is _so_ not getting invited to the cuteceñara," Silver Spoon responded.

Along with the children were several townsponies. They were gathered in a semi-circle, so everypony could see the spectacle that Prince Blueblood was putting on.

Celestia stepped forward to get a better look. On the ground in front of Blueblood, Trixie Lulamoon was crying through a black eye. "You can't do this!" she said. _"You can't do this!"_

"I am a member of the Royal Family. I can do whatever I want," Blueblood said. "Besides, she is _my _daughter!"

Not too far away, Scootaloo was watching with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo was hugging Fluttershy's leg and crying. Fluttershy patted Scootaloo's back and whispered words of comfort into her ear. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash stepped forward, with her wings spread wide in a defensive position.

"Hey, Big Shot!" Rainbow Dash said. "You think you can show up in our town and steal somepony? It's not gonna happen! If you want to get Scootaloo, you have to go through me!"

She snarled at Blueblood, who instinctively took a fearful step backwards.

"I have the law on my side," he said. "If you try to stop me, I will have you arrested for obstruction of justice! Who knows? Maybe I can convince the Judge to bring back the death penalty!"

**"That is enough!"** Princess Celestia shouted, using the Royal Canterlot Voice. The crowd burst into excited whispers as she stepped forward, towards Blueblood.

Trixie threw herself at Celestia's hooves. "Princess Celestia!" Trixie said. "Thank goodness! You can't let him take Scootaloo! You can't—"

"Ah, Aunt Celestia, good," Prince Blueblood said. "Give the order to arrest these commoners! They are trying to keep my daughter from me!"

"Perhaps it would be best to discussion the situation in private," Celestia said hotly.

"No!" Blueblood said. "Scootaloo is my daughter! Either she leaves here with me, or neither of us leaves!"

"She's not your daughter!" Trixie screamed.

"Of course she is!" Blueblood said. "Can there be any doubt? She looks just like my uncle Bluenose!"

"I don't want to do this, but I have no choice," Princess Celestia sighed. "Blueblood, do you truly wish to claim Scootaloo as your daughter?"

"Yes!" Blueblood said.

"There here," Celestia said. She used her magic to make a scroll of paper, along with a pen, appear. The writing utensils fell to the ground, in front of Blueblood. "Make it official."

"What is this?" he asked.

"The adoption form," Celestia said. "If you wish to claim Scootaloo as your daughter, you must sign this."

"What the hay is she doing?" Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy.

"Don't _help_ him!" Trixie begged. "Why would you—?"

Celestia used a hoof to silence Trixie, as Prince Blueblood used his magic to sign the scroll with a flourish. Princess Celestia took the form from him and sent it away.

"It is finished, then," Celestia said, standing up straight. "By my authority, I now declare that Blueblood has a daughter, and he is no longer a Prince of Equestria!"

_"What?"_ Blueblood shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth.

"The law states that the last remaining descendant of Prince Bluebill is an honorary member of the royal family," Celestia said. "Now that you have a daughter, you are no longer Bluebill's last descendant. Hence, not a Prince."

"Poppycock," Blueblood said. "Scootaloo is a minor. You can't give her my royal title."

"I am a member of the Royal Family. I can do whatever I want," Celestia quipped.

Blueblood flushed with anger, and he started to curse vehemently. Celestia turned away from him and walked towards Scootaloo, who was curled up under Fluttershy's wing.

Princess Celestia held out a hoof towards Scootaloo. "Don't be afraid," she said. "I promise I will take care of you."

Scootaloo nodded and grabbed the Princess' hoof. Princess Celestia perched Scootaloo on her shoulder, so everypony could see her.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" Celestia cried in a loud voice. "I present to you the newest member of the royal family, Princess Scootaloo!"

The crowd started shouting happily, and Pinkie Pie set off two party cannons. The schoolchildren started running around, uncontrolled. Trixie hugged Fluttershy and cried.

"I have had enough of this nonsense—" Prince Blueblood said angrily.

His words were cut off, when a flash of purple magic hit him. Blueblood's head and hindquarters switched places, so that his head stuck out beneath his tail, and his rear stuck out of his neck. He shouted angrily, and the crowd laughed heartily at his attempts to walk around.

As Celestia turned to look, the sun was blotted out. The sky become dark, as a shadowy figure flew through the clouds and landed in front of Celestia.

"You're hailing the wrong princess," Twilight Sparkle said, as she rested on the ground. She adjusted the crown which rested on her head, just above her horn.

Princess Celestia stepped backwards. "Twilight...you're an alicorn..." she said.

Twilight smiled grimly. "Yes, and once I kill you, the world will know the darkness of eternal twilight."


	16. The Battle in Ponyville

Over the course of her long life, Princess Celestia had heard many threats from different royal ponies. Not only was there Emperor Naponyan, but there was also Princess Pinkie Pie, Queen Crystalis and Princess Shoo-be-doo, the ruler of the seaponies.

Celestia had also received many threats from her various students. None of these threats were very serious; they mostly revolved around difficult tests and unfair deadlines.

The newly-alicorn Twilight Sparkle was something different. She was both Celestia's student _and_ a royal pony. That particular combination of traits had not been seen for a thousand years, when King Sombra tried to conquer Equestria.

Sombra had been Princess Luna's personal student in his younger years, similar to how Twilight was Celestia's student. Even though she hadn't seen Sombra in over a decade, Princess Luna had been extremely reluctant to use the Elements of Harmony on her former student.

_I now know how you felt then, Sister,_ Celestia thought. _Fighting your own student is...well...I'm not sure I can do this._

In the back of her mind, Celestia always wondered if King Sombra was responsible for Princess Luna's downfall. Not long after his defeat, Luna began acting differently. She shouted more often, began wearing a helmet at all times, and she constantly complained that ponies were sleeping through her beautiful night.

Around that time, rumors began to emerge about an evil pony who haunted dreams. After a single visit from her, a pony would have nightmares for weeks. Nopony ever saw her face, but a few caught a glimpse of her distinctive moon-shaped cutie mark, resulting in the nickname "Nightmare Moon".

It took six months before Princess Celestia realized that Nightmare Moon was her sister. By then, it was too late. Luna's temporary transformation into Nightmare Moon had become permanent; her body, mind and personality had changed completely.

Of course, Celestia still believed her sister was somewhere inside Nightmare Moon, waiting to be freed. Perhaps the real Twilight Sparkle was trapped somewhere inside this new, monstrous alicorn. There was only one way to know for sure.

"Hold for a second," Princess Celestia said. "This is no place for children."

Princess Celestia took Scootaloo off of her shoulder and set Scootaloo down on the ground. While doing this, Celestia held Scootaloo's body in between herself and Twilight, so Twilight did not see Celestia's lips move as she whispered, "Go get the Elements of Harmony. Now."

Scootaloo scampered off at top speed. Celestia stepped forward towards Alicorn Twilight.

"What happened to you?" Princess Celestia asked. "How did you...?"

"Become an alicorn?" Twilight asked. "It was quite simple, really. I asked Nightmare Moon to give me unicorn magic, and she did."

"You're working for Nightmare Moon?" Celestia gasped, as the ponies in the crowd started murmuring uneasily.

"No, I took a page from out of your book," Twilight said. "I tricked her into giving me what I wanted. Just like how you've been manipulating me for the past three years."

Celestia took a moment to do the math. "Three years...wait, are you talking about when I got you the assistant librarian job at my university?"

"You sent a _pegasus_ to work at a _unicorn_ school!" Twilight said. "Do you have any idea what kind of torture I had to put up with? I was the joke of the entire university! The favorite game on campus was 'Rip Twilight's Feathers Out'! They thought it was hilarious to watch me scream in pain! And that's nothing compared to the disaster with Prince Bluebutt over here!"

Blueblood tried to look impressive, which was hard to do, considering that his face was on his rear end. "I demand you put me back to normal at once!" he said.

"Don't interrupt!" Twilight shouted. She charged up a purple ball of magical energy on the tip of her horn, then she flung her head forward to throw the energy ball directly at Blueblood. It exploded near his feet, and he went flying into the air. He hit the ground some twenty feet away, and he broke his right hind leg upon impact.

"You see?" Twilight asked. "_That's_ what you should have done to Bluebutt, years ago!"

Princess Celestia flared her wings at this, the first sign of violence. "Stop!" she commanded. "I know you are upset, but I cannot allow you to hurt other ponies."

"Upset? I'm _more_ than upset! I'm _furious!_" Twilight said, stomping a hoof on the ground. "You don't let other ponies get hurt? LIAR! Where were you yesterday, when Blueblood arrested me? I didn't see you anywhere, when they locked me up forever!"

Princess Celestia's lips tightened. Clearly, it had been a mistake to let Twilight stay overnight in the insane asylum.

"Then again, I guess I should thank you for not interfering," Twilight said. "After they locked me up, I was able to leave my broken pegasus body behind and ascend to my true form! I am no longer the pathetic Twilight Sparkle! I am now Princess Suspended Sunset, the Destined Ruler of All Equestria!"

From the crowd, Pinkie Pie said, "Wow, she's even crazier than I am!"

"Suspended Sunset, huh?" Princess Celestia asked. _At least it's a better title than Nightmare Moon..._

The Alicorn formerly known as Twilight stood up to her full height. "An appropriate name, don't you think?" she asked, smiling slightly. "I will cause your sun to set."

"You will not find me such an easy opponent," Princess Celsetia promised.

"We shall see," Princess Sunset said. Deciding to repeat her earlier attack, she created a ball of purple magic energy on her horn. She threw it at Celestia, but the Princess of the Sun was prepared. Celestia turned to the side slightly, and in one smooth motion, she opened up her wing and knocked the magical attack aside.

The ball of purple energy exploded harmlessly in the air, and two of the ponies in the crowd started clapping. Princess Celestia looked over at the crowd, and as she expected, she could not see Trixie or Scootaloo there.

_Good, they're getting the Elements of Harmony,_ Celestia thought_. I need to buy them as much time as possible._

"Before we fight for real, why don't you explain why you're so upset?" Celstia asked. "Or tell me about your plans. What will you do, if you take over my throne?"

"You are an incompetent fool who is incapable of listening," Suspended Sunset said. "I already told you those things. As the Princess of Sunsets, I shall put the world into eternal twilight. Dusk shall rule over all of Equestria!"

* * *

While the two alicorns spoke with each other, the Elements of Harmony were being gathered. As soon as Scootaloo was set on the ground, she ran straight towards Trixie. "Quick!" Scootaloo said. "Princess Celestia says we need—"

Trixie, who had been on emotional overload for the past fifteen minutes, swept Scootaloo up in a giant hug. "My baby!" she said. "I thought I was going to lose you again!"

"Moooom!" Scootaloo said. She wasn't entire comfortable, being hugged in public. "We have to get the Elements of Harmony!"

"The...necklaces in the display case?" Trixie asked. "Why?"

"They're the only thing that stops evil alicorns, remember?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ruh...right," Trixie said. To be honest, she hadn't gotten around to reading the library book about the Elements of Harmony. "We've got, um...well, the two pegasi are here. So is Pinkie Pizza, or whatever her name was...Scootaloo!"

While Trixie was talking, Scootaloo dashed over to her schoolmates, who were all gathered around Cheerilee. Most of the children were watching Princess Celestia, and Scootaloo went through the group until she found the two fillies she wanted.

"Sweetie Belle! Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo said. "I need your help! You have to get your sisters and bring them here, right away!"

"Huh?" Apple Bloom asked. "What do you need Applejack for?"

"We need them to stop the bad guy!" Scootaloo said.

"But...Rarity can't stop bad guys," Sweetie Belle said. "All she can do is make dresses."

"Look, I'll explain everything later, okay?" Scootaloo said. "Just get your sisters and hurry!"

Apple Bloom wasn't convinced. "I dunno," she said. "That purple alicorn seems dangerous. Maybe we should let Princess Celestia take care of her."

"No!" Scootaloo said. "We have to do it, because...um...um...maybe we'll get our cutie marks in beating bad guys!"

Huge smiles erupted on the fillies' faces. "Hey!" Apple Bloom said. "That's a great idea!"

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle said. "Bad Guy Stopper Cutie Marks!"

The two of them ran off to get their sisters, while Scootaloo went with Trixie to get the Elements of Harmony from the display case in the library. By the time they returned, the battle between Princess Celestia and Princess Sunset was underway, and the two alicorns were circling each other, with intense looks on their faces.

"You cannot win," Celestia said. "Your magic is weak and untrained." She flipped her mane to the side. Her hair stretched out to its full length, and it began to glow slightly as Celestia cast a spell on it. A rope net, made of hair, flew out of Celestia's mane and went towards Sunset.

The purple alicorn rolled out of the way to dodge. "I am the strongest magician in Equestria!" she said. She tried to duplicate Trixie's fireworks spell, in order to make fireworks explode in Celestia's face, but she didn't get the spell correct.

Celestia's eyes burned yellow, and the ground shook. Thin pillars of dirt rose up from the ground, around Sunset. Within seconds, she was trapped inside a dirt cage, complete with a roof.

"How long have you had that unicorn horn?" Celestia asked. "Three hours, at most? I've been using magic for thousands of years."

"Your magic is old and useless!" Sunset said. Flames erupted from her horn, and she burned her way through the bars of the cage. "My twilight will rule!"

"Twilight is the worst time of day," Celestia said, conjuring up a bucket of water to douse Sunset's flames.

"You lie!" Sunset said, shooting a lightning-bolt like burst of energy at Celestia. "Sunset is the best time of all, because it's halfway between night and day! It's still bright enough to see outside, but not so bright that the sun hurts your eyes! That's great for book reading!"

"Jeez, even when she's an alicorn, she's an egghead," Rainbow Dash muttered. She was acting as the lookout for the Elements of Harmony, by hovering in the sky, ten feet above everypony else. When she spotted Applejack at a distance, Rainbow landed on the ground.

"Applejack's coming," Rainbow Dash said. "The only pony we're missing now is Rarity. I'm gonna go look for her."

"Don't take too long," Trixie said.

"No worries. I can find her in ten seconds flat," Rainbow Dash said. She flew off at top speed, towards Carousel Boutique. Applejack soon joined up with the rest of the group.

"Howdy, y'all," Applejack said. "What's up with Nightmare Moon Junior over there? She looks kinda like Twilight."

"It _is_ Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said. "When she grows a unicorn horn, she gets all nasty-wasty!"

"No!" Scootaloo said. "It's not Twilight! There's no way my big sister would turn evil!"

"Um...sorry to interrupt, but...are you _sure_ Cheerilee can't take over for me?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't want to fight anypony! Especially not big evil monsters!"

"Can I replace Fluttershy? I want to help!" Scootaloo said.

"It's too dangerous for you," Trixie said. She glanced at the fighting alicorns and paled slightly. "It might even be too dangerous for the Great and Powerful Trixie."

The magical duel became more and more intense, as time passed. Princess Celestia's reluctance to hurt her student prevented her from using her full strength in the battle, while Princess Sunset was fighting with all she had. As Sunset found herself running out of energy, she decided to go for broke with one, superpowered attack.

Princess Suspended Sunset threw a ball of strong, magical energy at Celestia's head. Princess Celestia countered with an energy attack of her own. The two energy attacks collided in the space between the two alicorns, and they combined into a high-powered sphere of lavender-and-cerulean light.

The sphere of energy rotated more and more quickly, as the two Princesses fought for magical dominance over it. They pushed more and more energy into their attacks, each one hoping to push the destructive orb towards her opponent. Soon, the ball of energy began to expand.

At first, it was the size of a hoofball. Then, it became the size of a pony's head. Soon, it was the size of a full-grown pony. The ground cracked, and the two alicorns flew up into the air, so they could have more room to work with. The massive ball of energy expanded until it was the size of a small house, but even then, neither Princess could wrest full control of it.

Around this time, Rainbow Dash returned with Rarity in tow. "What happened to Twilight?" Rarity asked. "Why is she an alicorn now? Why is she fighting with Princess Celestia? And _where_ did she get that _hideous_ crown?"

"We're not sure," Trixie said, handing over Rarity's necklace. "Here, put this on."

Rarity put on her necklace, then frowned. "Why do only half of us have necklaces?" she asked. "Did the orbs not work for the others?"

"What orbs?" Trixie asked.

"The ones we got in the castle in the Everfree," Rarity said. "Didn't we tell you about that? That's where the necklaces came from."

Trixie scrunched her brow in annoyance; she was _really_ starting to wish she hadn't been put in charge of the Elements of Harmony, when she knew almost nothing about them. "Nopony mentioned anything about orbs," she said. "Are they important? Does everypony need a necklace?"

"I dunno," Applejack said. She tapped the apple-shaped gem, at the front of her necklace. "How do we activate these things, anyway? Is there a code word or something?"

"I don't know!" Trixie said. "Princess Celestia didn't give me all the details! Twilight was the one who studied the Elements, not me!"

"Hmmm..." Rarity said, thinking. "I'm not sure how to use the Elements, either."

"Maybe I have to laugh to activate the Element of Laughter!" Pinkie Pie said. "Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA! Haaaaaa...huh."

"I'll take care of this," Rainbow Dash said. Without the slightest sign of fear, Rainbow Dash jumped into the air and flew right towards the alicorn battle. She hovered about four feet next to Princess Celestia and asked, "Um, Princess?"

"Sorry, but I don't have time to talk right now," Princess Celestia said, as sweat drops appeared on her forehead. "I'm a little busy."

"I want to tell you that we've got the Elements of Harmony," Rainbow Dash said.

"Excellent! What are you waiting for?" Celestia asked. "Use them on Suspended Sunset!"

"We don't know how to use them," Rainbow Dash said. "And, um, half of the Elements are missing."

_"What?"_ Celestia asked. For a moment, she lost her concentration on the battle, which gave Princess Sunset an opening. The giant ball of energy hit Celestia, and a loud crack like thunder was heard. Celestia plummeted to the ground, creating a crater when she landed.

Ponies gathered around the small crater. Princess Celestia was lying on her side, with her eyes closed. Her hair, which normally flowed in the wind, hung limply on the ground.

Princess Suspended Sunset landed on the ground and looked at Celestia's unmoving body. "I did it?" she asked. "_I did it! _I killed Princess Celestia! HA! O happy, happy day!"

Princess Sunset turned around to face the crowd. "Do you see now? Celestia is dead! She could not defeat the power of Sunset! She—"

While Princess Sunset was distracted, Celestia got up and hit her in the back with a quick spell. The dark alicorn screamed in pain and fury, as her body slowly disintegrated into white nothingness.

_Twilight Sparkle wouldn't have made the mistake of assuming I was dead,_ Celestia thought. _She always double-checked her answers before finishing a test._

Most of the ponies in the crowd cheered, as Princess Celesia walked out of the crater in the ground. Everypony else was too shocked at Sunset's defeat to react with joy.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Twilight's adult friends were gathered in the library. The mood was dismal, to say the least.

"She's gone..." Rarity said softly. "My friend from Canterlot is gone..."

"She was a good pony," Applejack said, wrapping a hoof around Rarity's shoulder in a comforting fashion. "I'm sure she's in Pony Heaven right now."

"She was the best librarian we ever had!" Pinkie Pie cried. "Ponyville will never be the same without her!"

"She was really, um...organized," Trixie said. Trixie didn't have anything nice to say, because she never had any good experiences with Twilight Sparkle.

"Maybe we could do a little tribute to her, at the Summer Sun Celebration," Rarity suggested. "It's what she would have wanted. She was so concerned about making the event a success..."

There was a knock at the front door, and Princess Celestia stepped in. "Good," she said. "I was hoping I'd find you all here. We need to talk about the Elements of Harmony."

Applejack adjusted her necklace, while all the other ponies merely looked at Celestia. The Princess of the Sun saw their gloomy faces and smiled gently.

"Do not be worried," Princess Celestia said. "I am not upset with you. I understand that you were unprepared to use Elements."

"But the Elements of Harmony would have saved Twilight..." Rarity muttered. "If only I had arrived sooner!"

Regret was an emotion Celestia understood well. "You did your best," Celestia said, closing her eyes. "That is all I can ask of you. Of course, we all wish things had worked out better, but we cannot change what happened."

Tears fell out of Fluttershy's eyes, while Rainbow Dash angrily ran a hoof along the floor. Even Pinkie Pie looked sad.

"The good news is that you have plenty of time to learn how to use the Elements of Harmony," Celestia said. "When Nightmare Moon comes next week—"

Rainbow Dash couldn't take it anymore, princess or no princess. She flew right at Celestia's face and shouted, "Shut up! Just _shut up! _You killed our friend Twilight, and you still think we'll help you fight Nightmare Moon? You're crazy!"

Celestia was taken aback. "I...what are you talking about?" she asked.

"You killed her right in front of everypony!" Rainbow Dash accused. "We all saw it!"

"Oh my goodness, is _that_ what you think happened?" Princess Celestia asked, taking a step forward. "My little ponies, I would _never _kill somepony! The spell I used on Twilight was a _banishment_ spell. All I did was send her somewhere else."

"She's not dead?" Rainbow Dash asked. She swept up Fluttershy in a hug. "She's not dead!"

The mood in the room immediately lifted, as the ponies let out various exclamations of relief. "Why didn't you mention that _sooner?_" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"I...I'm sorry," Celestia said. "I had no idea you thought she was dead. I thought it was obvious that I sent her to the moon."

"The moon?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Princess Celestia shrugged. "Banishment to the moon is the typical punishment for trying to kill me," she said. "Besides, I didn't have any time to think of anything else."

"But...that's where Nightmare Moon is!" Applejack said. "And she's coming back next week!"

"Yes," Celestia said grimly. "Unless I'm wrong, I believe _both _alicorns will return to Earth during the Summer Sun Celebration."

"T-two evil alicorns?" Fluttershy gasped.

"That is why you _must _learn how to use the Elements of Harmony by then!" Celestia said earnestly. "Only you can save Equestria from being overcome by eternal darkness!"

Fluttershy fainted from fright.


	17. Preparations

Under normal circumstances, the fight between Princess Celestia and Princess Sunset would have been national news. Magical duelers would have documented the battle in painstaking detail, investigators would have been sent to figure out where Princess Sunset came from, and everypony would have talked about it for months.

However, Princess Celestia was no fool. She knew there would be a widespread panic, if her citizens learned of the impending alicorn invasion. In order to help prevent the news from spreading beyond Ponyville, Celestia declared that the Royal Coronation of Princess Scootaloo would take place that Friday.

This proved to be the greatest distraction of the past hundred years, as all of the ponies in Equestria went crazy with joy, over the prospect of a new princess. Tens of thousands of ponies flooded into Canterlot, so they could attend the coronation. Publicity pictures of Scootaloo were distributed everywhere, and Scootaloo-related merchandise couldn't be made quickly enough to match with demand.

The only pony who was unhappy with Scootaloo's coronation, as it turned out, was Scootaloo herself. She was temporarily moved to Canterlot Castle for security reasons, and she didn't like being away from all of her Ponyville friends. She quickly started acting out, much to the disappointment of the ponies who now had to clean up after her messes.

"Got ya, you little punk!" Shining Armor said.

"Let me go! It's no fair!" Scootaloo said, kicking and screaming against Shining Armor's telekinetic grip.

"Ohhhh no," Shining Armor said, brushing a hoof against a coffee stain on his uniform. "I've been chasing you for ten minutes now. You're going _straight_ to Princess Celestia."

"NO NO NO NO NO!" Scootaloo shouted, but Shining Armor did not relinquish his hold on Scootaloo. He marched down a flight of stairs and through two hallways until he was at the throne room.

Princess Celestia was going through paperwork for the coronation ceremony, trying to figure out where all the various dignitaries would be staying. When she heard somepony shouting about booger-brained barbarians, Celestia looked up and sighed.

"I'll be right back," Celestia told the other ponies. She flew the short distance across the throne room, landing in front of Scootaloo and Shining Armor with her wings spread wide. "This is the third time today you have interrupted my meetings. What is the problem _this_ time?"

"Nothing!" Scootaloo said. "No problems here!"

"Young Scootaloo here just knocked the ambassador from Prance into a four-story cake," Shining Armor said. "Do you know the punishment for attacking ambassadors?"

"Look, whatever that mare with the silly accent says is a lie! I didn't do anything!" Scootaloo said. "I was just playing on my scooter like always!"

"I confiscated your scooter two days ago!" Shining Armor said. "That _thing _is a dangerous weapon in your hooves!"

"Yeah, well, I got it back!" Scootaloo said. "You're not the boss of me, Shining _Dumb_er! I'm a Princess, so I get to do whatever I want!"

"I can assure you that's not true," a kind voice said. Both Scootaloo and Shining Armor stopped fighting and turned their heads around to see a beautiful pink alicorn standing at the entranceway to the throne room.

"Cadance," Celestia said, happy for the distraction. "I was expecting you a little later."

"The train left early today," Princess Cadance said. "I wanted to ask which room I'm going to stay in, but it looks like you're, um, busy."

"Oh, no, not at all," Celestia said, with a smile. "We're just taking care of a minor dispute. The Assistant Captain of the Royal Guard here tells me that Scootaloo has been getting into trouble lately."

"What, this adorable little angel?" Cadance asked. Scootaloo beamed at her.

"I think there's only one way to teach you two how to get along," Celestia said. "Shining Armor, I am officially making you Scootaloo's personal bodyguard. Your job is to protect her all the time."

"WHAT?" Scootaloo shouted.

"No way!" Shining Armor said. "Nuh-uh. I qui—"

"I could help watch over Scootaloo, too," Princess Cadance offered. "I've done foal-sitting in the past."

"—I accept the job offer!" Shining Armor said quickly.

"That's very generous of both of you," Celestia said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a coronation to plan, which means _no more frivolous interruptions._"

The Princess of the Sun gave a harsh warning glare to Scootaloo and Shining Armor, then she turned tail and flew back to her throne.

* * *

Over in Ponyville, the Elements of Harmony were preparing for the upcoming battle against Nightmare Moon and Suspended Sunset. The group of ponies was once again at the library, where Trixie read to them from The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.

"'There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known...When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.' I don't understand this part. What is this spark? How do the five other Elements create the Element of Magic? Whoever wrote this—hey, are you listening to me?"

As it turned out, nopony was listening to Trixie. They were busy admiring their new necklaces, which had been custom-made for them.

"I've always wanted a necklace shaped like my cutie mark," Fluttershy said happily.

"And all our necklaces _match!_" Rarity said. "We should go out together as a group and all wear these! We'll get so many compliments!"

"Hey, what's with the extra one?" Rainbow Dash asked, holding up a necklace with a flower engraved on it.

"Ooo! Ooo!" Pinkie Pie said. "That's Cheerilee's cutie mark! Is she going to be one of the Elements of Harmony?"

"She's an emergency replacement, in case one of us gets sick," Trixie said. Trixie had asked for a back-up pony, because she suspected that Fluttershy would get scared and run away.

"That's good!" Pinkie Pie said. "I might be too busy to help you girls out, because my family is coming to visit me next week!"

Rainbow Dash suddenly had a vision of four pink ponies, bouncing around Ponyville and squealing in high-pitched voices. She shuddered slightly. "Your...family?"

"Uh huh!" Pinkie Pie said happily. "At first they weren't gonna show up, but Dad was _super_ impressed when I told him that I'm on a first-name basis with Princess Celestia! So now they're all gonna show up for the Summer Sun Celebration, and it'll be more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Which reminds me, I should get some monkeys for the _party!_"

"Pinkie, there isn't going to _be_ a Summer Sun Celebration, if you don't help us defeat Nightmare Moon," Trixie said sternly. "Now stop goofing around. We need to practice."

"Trixie's right," Applejack said. "We gotta figure out how to use the Element doohickeys." Applejack tapped the front of her necklace. "Is there a hidden button or something?"

"Well, the necklace _is _shaped like my cutie mark," Rarity said. "Perhaps that means I have to cast my gem-finding spell in order to activate it."

"Um, maybe we have to use our Element powers," Fluttershy suggested.

"I know! They're the Elements of _Harmony,_ right?" Pinkie Pie asked. "So we need to sing a song, in six-part harmony!"

On the other side of the room, Spike was sitting at one of the tables in the library. He was supposed to be working on his homework, but instead, he was busy trying to stare at Rarity without getting caught. When he saw the ponies debating how to use the Elements of Harmony, Spike got out of his chair and waddled over to them.

"Are you serious?" Spike asked. "You don't know what to do?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is the greatest magician in all of Equestria, but she is unfamiliar with this particular brand of ancient magic," Trixie said.

"Don't you girls read any comic books?" Spike said. "This is exactly what happened in Issue #19! These two aliens came from outer space to destroy the world, and the Z-Fighters had to work together in order to stop them!"

"How?" Pinkie asked.

"With super-cool poses, duh!" Spike said. "And matching costumes, and... other superhero stuff!"

"Ah!" Trixie said, jumping up with pleasure. She didn't know much about ancient magic, but she _did_ know a lot about looking impressive in front of a crowd. "I know a couple of group poses we can try out!"

"We're not gonna stop Nightmare Moon by doing_ poses_," Rainbow Dash scoffed. "We should try some group attack patterns! That's what the Wonderbolts use against rogue dragons and stuff."

Trixie scowled a bit at Rainbow Dash. "We can try both techniques," she said.

* * *

On the moon, the two alicorns were also making preparations.

"So it's agreed," Nightmare Moon said. "You'll help me conquer the world, and in return, we will switch from eternal night to eternal dusk, every other month."

"Yes!" her purple cohort said. "Soon, Equestria will know the wrath of **The Dark Princesses**, Nightmare Moon and Suspended Sunset!"

"Eurgh," Nightmare Moon groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you? Your name is still Twilight Sparkle! Growing a horn doesn't change your name at all!"

"Do I at least get to be a princess?" Twilight asked.

"NO!"

"That's not fair!" Twilight said. "Little Orphan Pony gets to be a princess, and I get banished to the freaking moon! I swear, I can't _wait _to kill Celestia."

"Celestia is _mine_," Nightmare Moon said. "_Your_ job is to fight the Elements of Harmony."

"Hmph," Twilight snorted. She was hoping for a rematch against Celestia, not a fight with the Ponyville Amateur Hour. "You can't fool me. I studied up on the Elements, when I was working for Fat Flank. I know that there's no way to beat them in a fair fight."

"Those are all lies, my faithful student," Nightmare Moon said, putting a guiding hoof on the smaller alicorn's back. "A thousand years ago, somepony used dark magic to prevent the Bearers from using the Elements of Harmony."

"Who?" Twilight asked.

"His name was Discord," Nightmare Moon said. "And I can teach you his method for turning ponies dull and gray."

_After all, it's almost the same technique I used to turn you evil..._

* * *

The situation with Scootaloo and Shining Armor was tense for about three-quarters of a day, until they got onto the topic of cutie marks. Shining told Scootaloo about some of Twilight's failed attempts to get a cutie mark, and Scootaloo ended up laughing so hard that she fell over and sprained her wing.

Scootaloo got along best with Princess Cadance, who certainly lived up to her reputation of being "the greatest foal-sitter ever". Cadance was able to sympathize with Scootaloo more than anypony else, seeing as Cadance was also born as an orphan and became a princess unexpectedly.

Cadance helped teach Scootaloo how to deal with all the strange ponies she had never met before. She explained what it meant to be a princess, and she even taught Scootaloo a special breathing technique that helped with relaxation.

On the day of the coronation ceremony, Princess Cadance was the one who helped Scootaloo prepare in her bedroom. Shining Armor wanted to be there—he made a special effort to be close by whenever Cadance was visiting—but Scootaloo's room was a girls-only zone that day. They forced him to stand guard outside.

"You're going to look fantastic!" Cadance said, as she brushed Scootaloo's mane.

"I don't like wearing dresses," Scootaloo complained, as she tugged on the side of her purple outfit.

"Me neither, but sometimes part of being a princess is dressing up," Cadance said. "You need to look nice for everypony."

"Is _everypony _in the kingdom going to be there?" Scootaloo asked.

"Almost everypony," Cadance said. "I have to say, I enjoyed meeting your mother at breakfast. It's very nice that she came all the way to be with you today."

"I guess," Scootaloo said. She sighed and looked at her shoes.

Princess Cadance stopped brushing Scootaloo's mane. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I dunno," Scootaloo said. "It's just...Mom is the only one in my family who's coming."

"Oh. Right," Princess Cadance said, putting her hoof to her mouth. Scootaloo's father, Blueblood, would not be attending the ceremony.

He still had a broken leg, after being attacked by the alicorn Twilight Sparkle. Worse yet, he had a broken mind. Not long after he lost his royal title and privileges, Blueblood had a complete mental breakdown. He ran through town, screaming and yelling and crying, until he was eventually arrested by the Royal Guard.

Princess Celestia, who was fond of poetic justice, sent him to the mental hospital for a month for recuperation. It was the same punishment Blueblood had tried to impose upon Twilight. Celestia did show him some mercy, in that she undid the spell which switched his head and his hindquarters.

"It must be difficult for you not to have your father around," Princess Cadance said compassionately.

"It's not just Dad," Scootaloo said. "It's my big sister, Twilight."

Cadance closed her eyes. She had spoken briefly with Celestia about Twilight Sparkle. Celestia had been extremely reluctant to reveal any details about the purple pegasus-turned-alicorn.

"She only got to be my big sister for a little bit, and now she's gone forever!" Scootaloo complained. "All I have left is her cranky older brother! It's not fair! I want her back!"

"Oh, Sweetheart," Cadance said. "I'm sorry that you miss your sister, but sometimes bad things happen to the ponies we love. That's just how life is."

"But why?" Scootaloo asked. "You told me that love makes everything better! Why doesn't it help me and my sister?"

Cadance sighed. As the Princess of Love, she was often confronted by angry, broken-hearted ponies. She never liked explaining about the more unpleasant aspects of love.

"Love is...complicated," Cadance said. "It is the most powerful thing in the world, but sometimes it can be misused. For example, unrequited love often parades as true love in situations where the beloved's love is—"

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

Cadance reminded herself that Scootaloo was only ten years old, at most. "Let me try again," Cadance said. "Do you know what love is, Scootaloo?"

"Love is...um...a feeling?" Scootaloo guessed.

"No," Cadance said. "Love involves feelings, but it's much more than that. Feelings can change, while love stays the same."

Scootaloo scratched her head. "You mean, like how I still love my sister, even though she's mean and nasty now?"

"Exactly," Cadance said. "Love isn't about _you_, Scootaloo. It's about the person you love. It lifts you up, outside of yourself, and settles you down on your beloved."

Scootaloo didn't quite understand this. "So _why _doesn't love help my sister?" she asked.

"I don't know what's wrong with your sister," Cadance said. "But I can promise you that, deep down, she still loves you. And that's never going to change, no matter how mean she is, or how much you two fight."

"I hope so..." Scootaloo said. "I just want her back, that's all."

Cadance hugged Scootaloo from behind. "I'm sure that everything is going to work out in the end. Now come on, let's go make you a Princess."

* * *

Princess Celestia wasn't crazy enough to put Scootaloo in charge of any part of the government, so her coronation was more ceremonial than functional. Nonetheless, it was a huge success. The crowds cheered as Scootaloo was given a crown and officially adopted as Princess Celestia's niece. The celebration lasted the entire three-day weekend (Monday being a holiday).

The problems started when Trixie returned to Ponyville. There were only two days left to prepare, and to be honest, the Elements of Harmony weren't working yet. Maybe it was because some of the ponies were assigned to the wrong Elements. Maybe it was because half of the necklaces didn't come from the Harmony Stones.

Most likely, though, the Elements of Harmony weren't working because the ponies themselves weren't working. Trixie was trying her hardest as the leader, but she couldn't fill Twilight's hooves. Her friendship with the other ponies, especially Rainbow Dash, was somewhat strained, and this hurt their ability to work as a team.

A new problem developed, when Trixie called for another practice session. They all chatted about Scootaloo's coronation, until Pinkie Pie showed up, five minutes late. The normally happy pony looked like someone just cancelled her birthday party.

"Um...I'm sorry, but I can't help with the Elements of Harmony on Monday," Pinkie said, sadly. "I'm not even allowed to be here right now."

_"What?"_ all the ponies asked.

"What's wrong, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.

"Dad grounded me," Pinkie said. "He said I eat too many sweets."

The various ponies let out cries of surprise and sympathy, all except for Rainbow Dash. "Wait, hold on a sec. You invited your family to come visit for the holiday, and your dad _grounded_ you? You're not a little filly anymore!"

Pinkie's hair seemed to deflate slightly. "Why does it matter? It's not like we've been able to use the Elements anyway."

"That's going to change!" Trixie said happily. "I talked with Princess Celestia, while I was in Canterlot for the coronation. She's used the Elements of Harmony before, so she taught me how to use them!"

"Really?" Applejack asked. "What have we been doin' wrong?"

"We just need to concentrate on our particular Elements," Trixie said. "Focus on what you represent, and think about how it brings harmony and friendship to the world."

"I don't think that will work," Pinkie Pie said, kicking the ground with her hoof. "Anyway, I have to go now. If Dad finds out that I left my room, I'll be _super_ grounded! He might even take Gummy away from me!"

"But Pinkie, we can't do this without you!" Trixie said. "You're our Element of Laughter!"

"And besides, you're our friend!" Applejack said.

"You can have Cheerilee replace me," Pinkie said.

"No way!" Rainbow Dash said. "We've been practicing with _you!_"

"Nopony else brings such...enthusiasm to our meetings," Rarity said. "And besides, your cutie mark necklace would look _horrible_ on Cheerilee."

After some begging, Pinkie agreed to stay for another five minutes, so they could at least try the new technique that Trixie learned. The ponies got into formation, and they started focusing on the power of friendship.

The new method wasn't as effective as possible, but it worked better than anything else they had tried. A tiny rainbow came out of the Element necklaces, connecting all five of them. The rainbow's ends were loose, until they hesitantly went into Trixie's necklace. The rainbow then disappeared.

"It stopped!" Rarity said.

Trixie turned to the other ponies. "We made more progress than we previously—"

The other ponies screamed in terror. Trixie's necklace was glowing, and her pupils had disappeared completely. As the ponies watched, Trixie's blank eyes were slowly filled with swirling rainbow colors. Only Rainbow Dash could stand to look at it.

"What? _What's happening?_" Trixie cried. "Trixie can't see anything! Trixie is blind!"

"Somepony call a doctor!"

"No, a magical expert!"

"Get some water, pronto!"

"Spandex!" Pinkie cried. "I need spandex!"

The mild panic was interrupted when the door to the library flew open. Pinkie's stern father stomped into the room, anger written all over his face. "Pinkamena Diane Pie!" he shouted. "What are you doing, young lady?"

Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy's long pink mane and tried to hide behind it. "Nothing, Daddy!"

Mr. Pie started scolding his daughter. "I told you that you can't play with your friends, after you—"

Trixie turned towards the sound of the disturbance, at the same moment she blinked. A rainbow-colored beam of light shot out of Trixie's eyes and hit Mr. Pie directly in the face. He was flung against the wall, and he collapsed on the ground.

"NO!" Pinkie cried.

"My eyes!" Trixie said, blinking a few times. "I can see again! What did—what happened to _him?_"

Pinkie's father slowly stood up. His entire mane, including his sizeable sideburns, had turned pink. A goofy grin covered his face, and he started bouncing. "Hey, is this a party? Why wasn't I invited? I wanna play with everypony! Let's try singing and dancing! Ooo, your necklaces are pretty!"

"Dad?" Pinkie asked. "Are you okay?"

Mr. Pie ran up to his daughter. "Hey, you look just like me!" he said. "My name is Pinkie Pie! I'm the most partyriffic pony in all of Equestria! Let's have a twins party! We're going to be best friends! Best twins forever, Pinkie Pie and Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie put her arm around her father, stopping him from bouncing around. "You hurt your head, and now you're acting weird," she said. "I'm going to take you home, okay?"

"Why? Is there a party there?" Mr. Pie asked. "Hey, do you want to hear the party song? P-A-R-T-Y! Party, party, me, oh my! I wanna party every day!"

Pinkie Pie led her deluded father out of the library. The other Elements of Harmony were left behind, and they were quite stunned at what just happened.

"Do...do we call that a success?" Trixie asked. "The Elements of Harmony _did_ turn a mean pony nice...kind of."

"I think I'd rather deal with Nightmare Moon than turn her into Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash said, speaking for everypony.


	18. A Nightmare Ends

The Summer Solstice that year was Monday, June 21st at 7:49 PM.

Princess Celestia looked over the group of ponies gathered on the open lawn of Canterlot Castle. As the Element of Magic, Trixie was the unofficial leader of the group, and the blue unicorn was standing in front of the others. For a brief moment, Princess Celestia considered _not _raising the moon that day, but then she nodded to Trixie.

"Is everypony ready?" Princess Celestia asked. She unfurled her wings and flew into the sky. Using her magic, Celestia lowered the sun. Everything was cast in shadows for a few seconds, before Celestia raised the full moon. The Royal Princess landed back on the ground, about ten feet away from the others.

Almost immediately, a dark purplish-black beam of light came shooting out of the moon, as if a giant spotlight had been set up. Pinkie started jabbering about how it looked like a lunar slide, while black mist traveled through the light and formed a dark cloud near the ground.

"Do we attack now?" Trixie asked.

"No," Celestia said with a hardened gaze. "Wait until they arrive."

It took ten seconds for the mist to materialize into the form of two dark alicorns. Under the light of the full moon, Nightmare Moon looked even more frightening than usual. She threw her head backwards and glared superciliously at Celestia.

"A thousand years ago, you banished me to the moon. Tonight, I shall have my vengeance."

"We do not have to fight," Celestia said. "Please, return my sister to me, and I will let you leave in peace."

Nightmare Moon laughed boldly. "Your attempts to pacify me are as ridiculous as your new manestyle," she said. "Nothing save your death will sate my appetite! I will destroy your new capital city and build my throne upon your corpse! Eternal night shall blanket the land, and the sun will be nothing more than a distant memory!"

"Do not be so confident," Celestia said. "Good always triumphs over evil."

"Then let the battle begin, O pestilential Celestia," Nightmare Moon said. She darted forward with her head hung low, in an attempt to stab Celestia's heart with her horn. Celestia quickly dodged to the left, and Nightmare Moon's horn grazed her side.

Celestia hit Nightmare Moon in the head with her wing, then she quickly spun around so she could kick Nightmare Moon with her two hind legs. Nightmare Moon managed to rear up in time, and she smashed her front hooves down on Celestia's back hooves. Celestia let out a minor whimper of pain.

Nightmare Moon grinned, a half second before Celestia's large, multi-colored tail completely enveloped her head. Unable to see, Nightmare Moon sputtered and tried to back away, to no avail. Celestia's hair forcibly grabbed Nightmare's head, lifted her up a half-foot, then threw her to the ground.

Growling, Nightmare Moon got back up and attempted to kick Celestia with her right hoof. Celestia blocked three hits, then dodged when Nightmare followed up with a left-hooved uppercut. Spinning in a circle, Nightmare jumped backwards five feet and extended her left wing. Her horn glowed, as a feather shot out of her wing and towards Celestia's face. The fast-moving feather grazed Celestia's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.

"The feather dart spell," Celestia said. "I haven't seen that in centuries."

"Is that so?" Nightmare asked. "Then let me show you again."

Nightmare cast her own variation of the spell, which caused thirty of her feathers to stand out straight. Celestia's eyes widened, as all thirty feathers flew at once. Quickly casting a teleportation spell, Celestia disappeared from their line of fire and reappeared ten feet in the air. She shot a yellow beam of light at Nightmare Moon, which created a small crater when Nightmare rolled out of the way.

Nightmare flew up to fight Celestia, but the elder alicorn was prepared. She turned to the side, and her sun-shaped cutie grew in size. It flew off of her flank and went straight to Nightmare's eyes, momentarily blinding and confusing her. Celestia flew to Nightmare Moon and smashed her from above.

Nightmare fell downwards, but before she smashed into the ground, she spread out her wings and caught herself. Her hair spread out, and silver sparkles appeared in it. The sparkles took on the shape of stars, which formed a net that she threw at Celestia. Celestia dodged, but her left hind left got stuck, allowing Nightmare to get three good hits in before Celestia threw a powerful burning spell at her chest.

In the past, Celestia had used that particular burning spell to kill a usurper seapony. Instead of killing Nightmare Moon, all it did was singe the dark monster.

_All those attacks, and I've barely even hurt her,_ Celestia thought grimly. _If only the moon wasn't giving her so much power right now!_

* * *

While Nightmare Moon dueled with Princess Celestia, the dark alicorn Twilight walked towards the group from Ponyville. She tried to look calm, but inside, she was nervous. She knew she would only have one good opportunity to use Discord's spell.

"Stop right there!" Trixie commanded. "Surrender now, or we'll use the Elements of Harmony on you!"

Twilight looked at her former friends, one by one. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were wearing looks of grim determination, while Trixie was scowling. Fluttershy was hiding behind Pinkie Pie, and Rarity looked somewhat scared.

_Bingo,_ Twilight thought. She smirked, then put on her best apologetic face. "I'm so sorry, Rarity."

"What?" Rarity asked, surprised to be addressed by her enemy.

"I'm sorry that my brother decided to leave you for Cadance," Twilight said. "You deserve better than that."

Rarity frowned. When the six ponies had arrived in the palace that day, she noticed that Shining Armor was a _tad_ more comfortable around Princess Cadance than Rarity would have preferred. But that didn't mean the two of them were—he was just doing his duty as a royal guard—Shining's relationship with Cadance was purely platonic...right?

"The Element of Loyalty, getting dumped by her coltfriend," Twilight said with buttery words. "Oh, the irony is heartbreaking. Poor, poor Rarity."

Rarity slumped on the ground, and her body took on a grayish hue. Trixie noticed that Twilight's horn was softly glowing, and she correctly guessed what was happening.

"She's trying to cast some sort of spell on us!" Trixie blurted out. "Don't listen to her! Quick, use the Elements!"

"R-right!" Rainbow Dash said. She and the others focused on their respective Elements and a magical glow surrounded them. Rarity tried to contribute to the group's effort, but she was too distracted by thoughts of Shining Armor with Princess Cadance.

Twilight conjured a shield and watched in apprehension as the colors of the rainbow appeared on her opponents, one by one.

Reddish pink came from Pinkie Pie's crazy mane. Orange and yellow came out of Applejack and Fluttershy's bodies. Green came from a streak in Rainbow Dash's mane, followed by the light blue of Trixie's coat. But the pattern stopped with Rarity. Her hair gave off a dark gray color, instead of the deep purple that it was supposed to.

The colors swirled about, surrounding Trixie. Her horn glowed, and all the colors seemed to get sucked into a large ball, at the top of Trixie's horn. Trixie opened her empty eyes and threw the full attack directly at Twilight.

An explosion of color hit Twilight, and everypony was momentarily blinded. A bright circle of light surrounded the alicorn, so that nothing could be seen of her, besides her dark silhouette. Twilight struggled to maintain her shielding spell, and with a scream of anger, she created a small explosion as she shot her shield outwards.

When the light subsided, Twilight was still standing. She panted heavily, and the left side of her body seemed bruised. Other than that, the attack seemed to have had no effect on her.

"YOU FOOLS!" Twilight shouted. "How dare you attack me?! I shall see your brittle bones rot on the graves of your mourning families!"

"Again!" Trixie said. "We must—"

"DIE!" Twilight shot out a beam of energy towards the others. The ground exploded under Trixie's hooves, sending the blue unicorn flying. She landed on the ground nearby, unconscious, and blood trickled down her leg.

Twilight let out a growl of anger, then allowed herself to relax a bit. Without their leader, the Elements of Harmony could never hurt her. Still, that attack had been too close for comfort. If Rarity hadn't been Discorded...

"Ha!" Twilight said. "Who's the more powerful student _now_, Trixie?! I always _knew_ you were a big fake when it comes to magic!"

The five remaining ponies all looked worried at each other. "Wha-what do we do now?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow Dash looked up. One of their emergency back-up plans was to have Princess Celestia fill in as an Element of Harmony, since Celestia had used the Elements in the past. However, it appeared that the Princess of the Sun was too busy fighting for her life to help at the moment.

Twilight glared at her opponents and inwardly vowed to make the rest of their short lives miserable. "You're all a bunch of _failures!_" Twilight said, beginning to use the Discord magic again. "What made you think you could defeat me? You got the Elements of Harmony completely wrong! Pinkie Pie is _not_ the Element of Laughter!"

"But I'm the happiest, funniest, most super-partyriffic pony ever!" Pinkie Pie said.

"No, moron," Twilight said. "You're not funny at all. You're just hyper because you eat too much sugar. Being a hyper lunatic is completely different from being funny."

Pinkie started to turn gray, but she struggled against it. "I also sing silly songs sometimes!" Pinkie said. She cleared her throat, to begin a song. "_When you're rife with devastation_—"

"Random musical numbers aren't funny, either," Twilight said. "And nopony appreciates stupid references. Face it, you're such a bad comedienne that you probably couldn't entertain a group of babies. Give it up, Pinkie."

Pinkie Pie frowned sadly, and she ran a hoof through her discolored mane.

"And Rainbow Dash? Element of _Honesty?_" Twilight asked. "You'd have to be dumber than Applejack to think _that _is a good idea! Rainbow Dash and truth haven't been on speaking terms, ever since she started bragging about how great a flyer she is!"

"Hey, I can do a Sonic Rainboom!" Rainbow Dash said.

"You did _one _Sonic Rainboom, over ten years ago," Twilight said. "I know you're too stupid to understand physics, but it's impossible for you to fly that fast now. You weigh too much. You're not as big of a fat flank as Pinkie, but you're still too heavy to do a Sonic Rainboom."

Applejack had to pull back on Rainbow Dash's tail, in order to prevent Rainbow from flying at Twilight and punching her. Meanwhile, Pinkie was pounding on the ground. Twilight smiled happily at their pain and anger.

* * *

Where were the other royal ponies, while the battle for the Crown of Equestria took place? The answer is not as interesting as you would think. Princess Cadance wasn't there to fight Nightmare Moon, because she was getting some donuts at Pony Joe's. She ended up missing the entire fight.

Princess Scootaloo was absent, because Princess Celestia didn't want her to be hurt. Shining Armor was given orders to keep Scootaloo safe inside her room at Canterlot Castle. The two of them stood on Scootaloo's balcony, and watched the events on the lawn through a pair of binoculars.

"They're both there!" Scootaloo said, shivering a bit as she saw the two dark alicorns together. "They look really mean!"

"Let me see!" Shining Armor said, trying to take the binoculars. He focused them on his sister, then gasped. "Is _that _what Twiley looks like now?"

"Gimme 'em back!" Scootaloo said. "I'm the Princess, not you!"

Scootaloo and Shining cooperated with each other, for only a short time. Once the battle broke into two groups, it became impossible for the two ponies to share the binoculars, because Shining Armor wanted to watch the aerial battle between Nightmare Moon and Celestia, while Scootaloo wanted to see Twilight face off against the Ponyville residents on the ground.

The two of them kept stealing the binoculars from each other, and they spent more time complaining than watching the fights. The argument over the binoculars did not stop, until the Great and Powerful Trixie was attacked and defeated in one blow.

"Mom!" Scootaloo cried.

"Oh no!" Shining Armor said.

"We have to get down there!" Scootaloo said, dropping the binoculars. "Evil Twilight hurt my mom! We need to help!"

"Nuh uh," Shining Armor said. "Princess Celestia gave me orders to protect you. I'll probably get in trouble as it is, for letting you watch from up here."

"My mom could _die!_" Scootaloo said. "Everypony could _die!_ We have to help!"

"It's too dangerous, and it's against my orders," Shining Armor said. "I need to keep you safe."

Scootaloo scowled at her personal guard and ran her into her room. She came back with a picture in her mouth. She spit it out on the ground.

"What's this?" Shining Armor asked.

"It's a picture of my mom," Scootaloo said. "When I was an orphan, this was the only thing I had to remind me of her. See what it says?"

Shining levitated the picture to his eye level. " 'Scootaloo, I will always love you, no matter what. When it's safe, I will come back for you. Mom.' Okay, that's sweet, but..."

"_No matter what_," Scootaloo said. "That's how family works, right? We have to help no matter what."

Shining stomped on the ground in frustration. What was he supposed to do? His training as a guard didn't cover his sister turning into an evil alicorn, then attacking his charge's mother. Who was more important to protect: Twilight or Scootaloo?

"_Please,_ Shining Armor!" Scootaloo begged. "What if I'm the only pony who can save her?"

Shining Armor paused for a second, then grabbed Scootaloo in his arms. She squirmed to escape his grip, but he held tightly. Slowly, he lifted her up until she was above his head.

"I'm _so _getting fired for this..." Shining Armor moaned.

Shining Armor threw Scootaloo off the balcony, aiming her towards the other ponies. Scootaloo spread out her wings and dove towards Twilight's head.

* * *

Twilight smiled at the angry gray ponies in front of her. They had started fighting with each other, and they no longer posed a legitimate threat. Still, Twilight took delight in continuing her verbal attack.

"Everypony secretly hates your pet bunny," Twilight said. "Angel is spoiled jerk. The next time I see him, I'm going to skin him and eat him."

"NOOOOOO!" Fluttershy moaned.

"The worst thing is your stupid—"

"HYAH!" Scootaloo cried as she swooped down and punched Twilight in the jaw. The punch didn't hurt very much, as Scootaloo didn't angle her dive correctly, but it looked impressive nonetheless.

When she landed on the ground, Scootaloo immediately ran to the other ponies. "Mom!" she said, grabbing her mother's hoof. "Is she dead?"

"She's still breathing," Applejack muttered. "Dunno how much longer it'll last, though..."

Twilight stepped forward, and the five full-grown ponies instinctively formed a protective circle around Scootaloo. Well, if it isn't the orphaned princess!" Twilight sneered. "Did you come here so I could kill you?"

"I came to get my big sister back!" Scootaloo yelled.

"You're as delusional as the rest of them," Twilight said. "I bet you think that you can fly, don't you? Stupid little Scootaloo."

"What?" Scootaloo asked. "I _can _fly! You taught me."

Twilight laughed. "Haven't you wondered why your primary feathers aren't fully grown in yet?" she asked. "You're a cripple, Stupidloo. You can't fly; you can only glide."

Scootaloo shook her head in anger and fear. "Go away, you evil monster!" Scootaloo said. "We want Twilight Sparkle, the NICE pony!"

"Jeez, you're a whiny little princess, aren't you? The old me is dead! The Princess of the Dusk shall live forever!"

"Give me back Twilight!" Scootaloo said. "Give her back NOW!"

Scootaloo reared up on her hind legs, then stomped her front hooves on the ground. An orange shockwave emanated from her hooves. The waves grew to be about a foot in size, and they surrounded the group in a circle.

"Wha—what sorcery is this?" Princess Twilight asked, stepping back.

Light streamed out of the Elements of Harmony necklaces. The Bearers turned back to their normal colors, as the orange glow surrounded the group. All six ponies were raised in the air about two feet, and after a few seconds, the confused Scootaloo understood what was happening.

_It's what Cadance told me,_ she realized. _Love lifts you up and settles on the other pony._

Scootaloo felt a crown appear on her head. A magical burst of light came forth from it, and similar magical lights poured out of the necklaces of the others. They combined to form a huge tornado of light, which completely enveloped the evil alicorn Twilight.

"No!" Twilight shouted. "NO! The Elements of Harmony aren't—!"

The light was so bright that everypony had to close their eyes. Even Celestia and Nightmare Moon stopped dueling and landed on the ground, where they watched the scene in amazement. Eventually, the light cleared and the Elements of Harmony landed back on the ground. Twilight Sparkle, once again a pegasus, was standing in a small crater before them. A shocked look was on her face for two seconds, before she collapsed to the ground.

"Twilight!" Scootaloo said. She tried to leap forward, but Applejack held her back.

"Hold on, squirt," Applejack said. "We don't know if that worked or not. Maybe all we did was make her mad at us."

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We totally destroyed her! That was _awesome!_"

Fluttershy was still shuddering in fear. "She—she said _horrible _things to us!" she moaned.

"That was Evil Twilight!" Scootaloo said, breaking free of Applejack's grip. "Good Twilight is—"

Pinkie Pie was the first to notice the difference. "Scootaloo!" she said. "You...your cutie mark!"

"Huh?" Scootaloo asked. She looked at her flank, to notice that it was no longer blank. A blue heart had appeared, similar to Princess Cadance's cutie mark. Behind the heart was a red, six-pointed star, similar to Trixie's cutie mark.

_"I got my cutie mark!" _Scootaloo cried happily. "_I can't believe it! My special talent is_—um—what's my special talent?"

"It's...love magic!" Rarity said, sounding impressed. "It has to be! Your love must be powerful!"

"NO!" Nightmare Moon shouted, drawing everypony's attention to her. "That's impossible! A pegasus cannot be the Element of Magic! Only unicorns can use magic!"

Celestia smiled widely. "Haven't you heard, dear sister? _Friendship_ is magic."

Nightmare Moon groaned in anger. The one thing she hated more than the sun was cheesy lessons about love. When Nightmare Moon had first taken over Princess Luna's body, her love had been the hardest thing to overcome.

"_I_ was planning on killing Twilight!" Nightmare Moon shouted. "You will all die, for taking that pleasure away from me! I will decimate your—_what?_"

Nightmare Moon found herself surrounded by a green glow, and she struggled to move away. The green glow was coming from Celestia's horn, and the royal ruler turned to the others. "Quickly, my little ponies!" Celestia said. "Use the Elements again! I can't hold her in place for very long!"

"R-right!" Scootaloo said. "I'm not the only pony whose sister needs to be saved!"

The Elements of Harmony got into position again. After a brief prompting from Fluttershy, Scootaloo focused on happy feelings like love and family. She and the other ponies floated into the air again, and Nightmare Moon screamed in fury as she was cleansed in the fires of friendship.

Soon, Nightmare Moon was gone forever, and Princess Luna was back. She was a little smaller and paler than Celestia remembered, but there was no mistaking it. At long last, Luna had woken up from the nightmare which consumed her for over a thousand years.

Celestia stepped forward to examine her unconscious sister's body, when a groan came from fifteen feet away. The ponies turned around to see Twilight stumble out of the crater she had been in. She rubbed her aching forehead.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked woozily. "Where are we? What happened?"

"Twilight! You're back!" Scootaloo said.

"YES!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"I...what?" Twilight asked, seconds before she found herself in the middle of an enormous group hug.


	19. The Summer Sun Celebration

"But it _can't_ be the Summer Sun Celebration today!" Twilight Sparkle argued. "That's still a week away!"

"We told you already!" Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "If you still think it's last week, then how do you explain Princess Luna being here?"

"Hmph," Twilight Sparkle said.

The ponies were on the train, riding to Ponyville. They would arrive late for the all-night party, which had Pinkie Pie somewhat distraught.

"Perhaps we should try a different approach," Princess Celestia said. "Twilight, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Well...last night, Trixie came to Ponyville," Twilight said, nodding her head towards Trixie. "And then you showed up, Princess, and we, uh...I got mad at you. And...I...I met with Nightmare Moon in the woods."

Twilight's friends gasped. "Did she attack you?" Rarity asked. "Is _that_ how you ended up in the hospital?"

"I ended up in the hospital?" Twilight asked. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember."

At this, Scootaloo could no longer contain herself. "That's where you promised to be my big sister!" she said, bursting forward and grabbing Twilight's hooves. "You _have_ to remember! You just have to!"

"Your..._sister?_" Twilight asked, paling slightly.

Princess Celestia closed her eyes, thinking deeply. "Perhaps it is for the best that you and my sister can't remember what happened," she said. "Many bad things happened when the nightmare powers controlled you."

"Huh," Applejack said. "I knew there was somethin' weird about Twi after she got injured. She wasn't acting like her usual self."

"I figured she was acting weird 'cause she was in the hospital," Rainbow Dash said. "If I had a broken wing, I'd probably act weird myself."

Pinkie Pie waved her arm in the air, like she was answering a question in school. "Ooooo, maybe it was because of that evil glowy necklace thingy she was wearing that nopony noticed, except I totally noticed it, and I'm a pony!"

_"What?"_ everypony asked.

"Are you saying that you _knew_ my sister was turning evil?" Shining Armor asked with some anger in his voice. "Why didn't you do anything about it?!"

"Twilight said the necklace was a gift from the Princess, so I thought it was okay!" Pinkie said. "It was black and red, and it had wings and a horn on it, and—"

"The Alicorn Amulet!" Princess Luna said.

"That's it!" Twilight said. "Nightmare Moon told me to get the Alicorn Amulet! So I went to Canterlot and I...I...uh..."

"Yes?" Princess Celestia asked.

"...I think I stole it," Twilight said softly.

"Oh, dear," Fluttershy said.

"And that would be the night we had those...incidents in Canterlot," Celestia said. "Very well. I suppose that explains some things."

"You're not going to punish her, right?" Shining Armor asked. "It wasn't her fault, and she already got arrested for it!"

_"I got arrested?!"_ Twilight shouted. She flared her wings so quickly that one of her feathers fell loose.

"Mom said you were protecting me, like a good big sister," Scootaloo said. "Please remember it. _Please!_"

Scootaloo looked like she was about to cry. Before Trixie could step in, Twilight reassuringly patted Scootaloo on the head with her wing. "Don't be sad, Scootaloo," Twilight said. "We can still play pretend sisters if you want to."

"It wasn't pretend! It was real!" Scootaloo said adamantly. "You even taught me the BSBFF song!"

Shining Armor's jaw dropped. "You taught her our song?" he asked. "Twiley! How could you?"

"I don't remember!" Twilight said, grabbing her forehead. She groaned and aggressively rubbed the spot where her horn had been. "I'm trying, but all I can see is the color white!"

Princess Celestia stood up. "We can discuss things later," she said. "Twilight has just been through a terrible ordeal, and the last thing she needs right now is more pressure."

The other ponies nodded, although some of them were reluctant to agree. Twilight was their friend, and they didn't want to upset her.

* * *

Mayor Mare was about to pull her hair out. "Where is she?" she asked. "It shouldn't be taking this long!"

Spike scratched his stomach. "Her letter said she'd be here soon," he said. "I'm sure she—"

_"That was fifteen minutes ago!"_ Mayor Mare half-shouted. "We can't have the Summer Sun Celebration without the Princess! Not to mention the fact that all of our volunteers are gone, too!"

Spike shrugged. "Everypony here seems to be having a good time. I wouldn't worry."

Mayor Mare kept fretting for a while, until Twilight flew through the door of the town hall building. Coming to a quick stop next to the Mayor, Twilight said, "Don't worry! I'm here!"

"Twilight! You're back!" Spike said. He hugged her leg affectionately. "How'd it go? Did the Elements work okay?"

"Yes! Nightmare Moon is gone forever!" Twilight said, smiling. She turned to the mayor. "The Princesses are just now leaving the train station. They'll be here soon."

Mayor Mare was flabbergasted. "You—you're still _alive? _How did you—public execution—insane asylum—the _Princesses?_"

"Sorry for not being here to help this past week," Twilight said. "But I'm here now! Let's make this the best Summer Sun Celebration ever!"

"Yeah!" Spike said.

Mayor Mare tried her best not to fall over. "I need a drink," she muttered. "Where's Berry Punch?"

Twilight flew to the small stage, where a podium had been set up for Princess Celestia's use. "Hello, everypony!" Twilight said as loudly as she could. "Can I interrupt for a just a second? We have some very special guests tonight!"

There were some gasps from the crowd, as Twilight was recognized by the townsfolk. Whispers flew around the room, faster than Rainbow Dash during the Running of the Leaves. "Isn't that Twilight Sparkle?" "Where's her horn?" "Didn't she get sent to the moon?"

"As you all know, Princess Celestia is going to attend tonight's party," Twilight said. "But she's not the only Princess who's on her way! As a special surprise, Princess Cadance and Princess Scootaloo are coming!"

Twilight paused to cough. She wasn't yet used to the idea of Scootaloo being a Princess.

"But that's not all! Princess Luna is also coming! She's Princess Celestia's sister, so let's make her feel welcome, okay?"

Twilight left the podium. The loud whispering had turned to open murmuring. Bon Bon, remembering the stories about Princess Luna from Nightmare Night, ran home to get some candy in order to avoid being eaten up.

The Princesses arrived with the other ponies, four minutes later. It was hard to tell who was getting the most attention. Princess Cadance was getting a fair share of well-wishers, since this was her first time in Ponyville. Princess Celestia was always popular, and everypony wanted to meet the new Princess Luna. But perhaps Scootaloo got the most attention, because she was almost a textbook definition of "hometown hero".

A group of ponies, mostly school children, flocked around Scootaloo and asked questions. "What's it like in Canterlot?" "Where did you get your crown?" "Is it true that princesses don't have to go to school?"

Scootaloo held up a hoof for silence, a technique that Princess Cadance taught her. "Being a princess is fine and all that, but I'm not gonna let it change who I am," Scootaloo said. "I'm more excited about _this!_"

Scootaloo turned and showed off her cutie mark. Some ponies gasped, while others made appreciative remarks. "I've never seen a cutie mark like _that_ before!" "That's really cool-looking!" "It looks kinda like your mom's cutie mark! Is that on purpose?"

"Does this mean I have to become a princess before I get _my_ cutie mark?" Applebloom asked, worried.

"I sure hope not!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Princess Cadance says my cutie mark is a type of love magic," Scootaloo said proudly. "It means my special talent is believing in other ponies!"

The children kept asking Scootaloo questions, except for Diamond Tiara. Diamond was practically frothing at the mouth, over the fact that Scootaloo became a princess _and_ received a cutie mark. Meanwhile, Cheerilee walked over to congratulate Trixie.

"I take it that the mission in Canterlot was a success," Cheerilee said. "I'm glad you figured out how to get the Elements of Harmony working."

"Yes, it turned out that we didn't need you in the battle after all," Trixie said. "Still, thank you for all your help. I doubt we could have done it without out."

"It was my pleasure," Cheerilee said graciously. Secretly, she was glad that she wasn't needed to fight Nightmare Moon. "So, what's going to happen now that your work here is complete?"

"I want to see if Scootaloo and I can live here permanently," Trixie said. "Even if she was born in Canterlot, this is her home town. I certainly wouldn't mind raising her here."

"I'm sure the other children would like that," Cheerilee agreed.

* * *

"What is this strange contraption?" Princess Luna asked, frowning at the peculiar sphere which hovered before her.

"It's called a balloon," Princess Celestia said, laughing slightly. "You've got a lot of catching up to do, my dear sister. The world has changed greatly in the past thousand years."

"We can see that plainly," Luna said, tapping the balloon with her horn. "Pray tell, what purpose does this _buhloun_ serve? It appears—"

The balloon popped, and Luna gave a small shriek of terror. She stepped backwards and almost hit the pink pony who had been approaching.

"Oooo! Princesses! Princesses!" Pinkie Pie said, jumping up and down. "You have to meet my family! They came all this way, just to meet you!"

"We have killed the buhloun!" Princess Luna exclaimed.

Celestia shook her head slightly. "My sister and I would be glad to meet your family, Pinkie," she said.

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie said. She bounced away to get her family, while Luna turned to her sister.

"Sister, am I mistaken, or does that pink pony have buhlouns for a cutie mark?" Luna asked.

"She does," Celestia said. "It indicates that Pinkie Pie enjoys parties."

"Most peculiar..." Luna said to herself.

It was not long, before Pinkie Pie returned with two older ponies. They both looked rather dignified and old-fashioned.

"My mom and dad are Cloudy and Igneous!" Pinkie said. "Well, not really. Those are just their names! They're rock farmers!"

"It is a pleasure to meet your royal highnesses," Mr. Pie said, shaking Celestia's hoof.

"You two certainly raised an...interesting daughter," Princess Celestia said, smiling.

"I congratulate you on your return from the moon," Mrs. Pie said, bowing to Luna.

"THOU ART TOO KIND, O TILLER OF THE ROCK!" Princess Luna said loudly. "THE PLEASURE IS OURS!"

Mr. Pie fell over in pain, as it felt like his eardrums exploded. Celestia smiled apologetically. "I forgot to warn you about the Royal Canterlot Voice..." she said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rarity found an opportunity to take Shining Armor aside for a bit. She took him to a corner, where they wouldn't be overheard. "Shining...is there anything going on between you and Princess Cadance?"

"Whu-what?" Shining asked.

"I've seen the way you look at her," Rarity said. "...You think she's pretty, don't you?"

"Well, I...uh..."

Rarity leaned forward, holding her horn dangerously close to Shining Armor's throat. "Is that why you didn't contact me, after leaving Ponyville? You were too busy with the Princess of Love?"

"No!" Shining Armor said. "I...I asked the captain for a transfer here, but Princess Celestia gave me a new assignment! You can ask her yourself, if you don't believe me!"

"Hmmmm..." Rarity said. "And you didn't tell me this, _why?_"

"I...I guess I didn't write because I was embarrassed," Shining Armor said. "I mean, you saw Princess Celestia chew me out, and then there was the mess with my sister...but mostly, I was embarrassed because I never worked things out with you."

Rarity relaxed her aggressive stance a bit. "What do you mean, we never worked things out? I thought it was perfectly clear that we enjoy spending time together."

"That's just it!" Shining said. "We like each other, but are we friends, or are we dating, or what? I didn't want to ask, because I was afraid of losing you."

Rarity put her hoof on Shining's leg. "Shining...I like you, too, but we live in different towns. It would never work."

A manly tear found its way down Shining's cheek. "Ruh...Rare..."

Rarity's lips trembled. "Shuh...Shine..."

The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before passionately embracing. "You're the most beautiful mare I've ever met, and I want to be yours forever!" Shining said.

"Darling, I need you with me always!" Rarity said. "I don't care what Mother thinks of you!"

Across the room, Princess Cadance smiled at the kissing lovers. It was another job well done. She turned and found herself face-to-face with an angry Twilight.

Twilight narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I saw that, Cadance," she said. "You cast some sort of spell on my brother."

"Who, me?" Cadance said. "No, your brother and his marefriend decided to patch things up on their own! Look how much they love each other!"

"...She's _not_ his marefriend," Twilight said. "They haven't even had a first date yet."

Cadance paled and said an unprincess-like word.

* * *

Fluttershy wasn't feeling very well. She didn't like being in a room filled with other ponies, even if it was for a party. Spotting her friends in a group nearby, Fluttershy decided to walk over.

"So y'all are Pinkie Pie's sisters?" Applejack asked.

"That's right," the gray mare said. "I'm Marble, and these are Keystone and Limestone."

"Um...excuse me," Fluttershy whispered.

Rainbow Dash thought about that for a second. "Your parents named you after types of pie?"

"Types of rock, actually," Marble said. "Our parents are rock farmers."

"I love your mane!" Limestone said. "It's so bright and colorful!"

"Hello?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Rainbow Dash said.

Fluttershy's soft blue eyes drooped, as she realized nopony had noticed her. _They're too busy talking to the new ponies_, she thought sadly.

The shy pony walked away from the others, and she decide to hide backstage with her bird choir. She cautiously made her way around the side of the room, and she snuck behind the curtain. To her surprise, a lavender pegasus was sitting there, softly crying.

"Oh! Twilight!" Fluttershy said. "I...I didn't think anypony would be back here!"

"Oh...hey, Fluttershy," Twilight said, wiping away a few tears. "Is everypony avoiding you, too?"

"Well, not exactly..." Fluttershy said. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Twilight sniffed. "This'll probably sound stupid, but nopony wants to talk to me. They all seem..._scared_ of me. And I know why."

"You do?"

"I...I think I'm starting to remember what happened last week," Twilight said. "I...I hurt a lot of ponies, didn't I?"

"That wasn't you," Fluttershy said. "That was Nasty Twilight. You would _never_ do anything like—"

"But I did," Twilight argued. "I yelled at the Princess and went after the Alicorn Amulet. That was all _my _fault. I can't blame Nightmare Moon for that."

Fluttershy wanted to hold Twilight and tell her everything would be fine, the same way Fluttershy calmed down one of her animals after a nightmare. She didn't think it would be appropriate to pet Twilight on the head, though, so she kept her distance.

"Um...I don't know if this helps, but...I was scared tonight," Fluttershy said. "Like, more scared than I've been in my whole life! I'm not brave like Rainbow Dash. But I...I went anyway, because I wanted to help you. We all did."

"But you had no idea if the Elements of Harmony would work on me," Twilight argued. "You just got lucky."

"We had to try, even if it didn't work," Fluttershy said. "You're our friend, and we love you. That...that's more important than fighting evil scary alicorns."

Twilight half-smiled. "You really are the Element of Kindness, aren't you, Fluttershy?"

"I...I don't know..." the butter-yellow pegasus said, playing with her hair. "I just try to be nice to everypony and help my friends. I don't think that's anything special."

"Well, you're special to me," Twilight said. The two of them shared a hug together, before going back to the party.

* * *

Around midnight, Princess Celestia managed to find Twilight and tap her on the shoulder.

"Princess?" Twilight asked.

"These long nights can be quite tiring," Celestia said. "I think I'll go outside and stretch my wings for a bit. Would you care to join me?"

"I...um..." Twilight said. She looked around a bit, before nodding quietly.

The two of them left the building together. Outside, the full moon cast a soft glow upon the main fountain in town. Celestia walked with Twilight a few moments before speaking.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you alone yet," Celestia said. "How are you feeling after your ordeal?"

"I'm doing better, but I still don't feel well," Twilight said. "I wish I could remember everything instead of just bits and pieces."

"So you're starting to remember things?" Celestia asked.

"I remember destroying the Alicorn Amulet," Twilight said. "And I think I remember agreeing to be Scootaloo's big sister, but I'm not sure."

"She'll be glad to hear it," Celestia said. The large alicorn spread out her wings and flew into the air. Twilight followed at her side.

"You...you don't blame me for what happened, do you?" Twilight asked.

"Of course not, my little pony," Celestia said. "If anything bad happened, it was my own fault. I should have been better prepared, and I should have been honest with you from the beginning."

"...I'm sorry I yelled at you," Twilight said. "And I'm sorry I wrote those mean things about you on the side of Canterlot Castle."

"What about the unkind things you did to Blueblood?"

"...I don't think I'm sorry for that," Twilight said honestly.

Celestia laughed. "Twilight, if you forgive me, than I forgive you, and all is well. There is absolutely nothing to worry about."

"...Thanks," Twilight said. "That means a lot to me."

"But I didn't ask you out here, so we could talk about the past," Celestia said. "I want to talk about the future. We need to decide what you're going to do, now that your mission in Ponyville is complete."

"My...mission?"

"Nightmare Moon is defeated, thanks to your hard work," Princess Celestia said. "What will you do now, Twilight? Return to the university?"

Twilight scowled, as she thought about going back to her previous job at the unicorn school. "No way," she said. "I...I think I'll stay here in Ponyville. I can still be the town librarian, right?"

"You can certainly do that," Celestia said. "But your family lives in Canterlot."

"I know, but...all my friends live here," Twilight said. "You're always talking about the power of friendship and...I think I understand it now. Friends might even be better than books!"

Celestia smiled. "I never thought I'd hear a pony with a book cutie mark say something like that," she said. "You've certainly grown up a lot, since the day we first met in the gardens." Twilight blushed slightly at this, remembering how Celestia first met her while she was crying about being lost.

The two of them continued to fly over Ponyville, for over fifteen minutes, until they were interrupted by Rainbow Dash. "_There_ you are! Everypony's looking for you two!"

"They are?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, the Mayor was yelling about how we couldn't raise the sun without the Princess," Rainbow said.

"I suppose I should have told her where I was going," Princess Celestia said. "Very well. Let us return to the Town Hall."

The three pegasi flew back to the Town Hall building, where a small crowd was waiting for the two of them. The Elements of Harmony were there, along with Spike and Shining Armor. A frazzled-looking Mayor Mare, who had an empty bottle in her hooves, sighed with relief to see that the guest of honor had returned.

Twilight stepped forward, but Celestia blocked her with a wing. She turned to look quizzically at Celestia who smiled and leaned forward.

"Not _all_ of your friends live in Ponyville," Celestia said, nuzzling Twilight softly. "If you ever need to come back to the capital for any reason, I'll have a room available for you."

"Thanks, Princess," Twilight said. "And don't worry. The next time I become an alicorn, I'll do it the normal way, through hard work and helping other ponies!"

Celestia laughed. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Twilight turned to her friends, who had almost literally saved her life. Grinning widely, Twilight scooped up Scootaloo in her hooves. "Come on, Little Sis, we've got a party to enjoy!"

"Yay!" Scootaloo said.

**The End**


End file.
